Task Force Cs-137 Calls Footwear Products Radiocontaminated Since May 2025

Head of Task Force Cs-137 Bara Krishna Hasibuan. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Task Force for Handling Radioactive Contamination Cs-137 revealed that cases of contamination of footwear products exported to the United States (US) have occurred since May 2025. However, official reports regarding these findings have only been received in recent times.

Chairman of the Cs-137 Task Force Bara Krishna Hasibuan explained that the case was detected through a report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on footwear products from Indonesia exported to the country.

"We received further information that there were indeed findings of Cs-137 contamination of footwear products exported to the United States," Bara said at a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Jakarta, Wednesday, November 12.

After being traced, continued Bara, there were two containers of footwear products suspected of being contaminated and have been returned to Indonesia. The first container arrived a month ago in Indonesia and had not been processed by the producers, so an inspection had not been carried out.

Meanwhile, continued Bara, the second container arrived on October 29 with a notification of Cs-137 contamination and was examined by Bapeten on October 30.

The results of the examination of the second container did not find any contamination on the surface, so it is safe to store at the port. However, now a test is being carried out on footwear products, in the contents of the container, footwear or footwear products carried out by BRIN," he explained.

Bara said the footwear product came from an industrial company located in Cikande, but was outside the industrial area with a radius of 5 kilometers (km) from a source of contamination, namely the steel smelting facility owned by PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT).

"So it's indeed a shoe factory, but I emphasize it's not in the Cikande industrial area, but outside, but indeed close to industrial areas," he said.

In addition, Bara admitted that the contamination against the shoe factory had been going on for a long time, but it was only known by the authorities in recent times.

"That's what's about footwear, actually it's been a while, but we just received the official report," he explained.

Bara mengatakan, awal temuan kasus dugaan kontaminasi pada produk alas kaki asal Cikande ini terjadi hampir bersamaan dengan temuan radiasi Cs-137 pada udang dan cengkeh beberapa waktu lalu.

“Kelihatannya Mei. Itu (kasus udang) ketahuannya pertama kali Agustus. Tapi kelihatannya airborne-nya kontaminasinya terjadi bulan Mei,” ucapnya.

Bara said that the initial findings of the alleged contamination of footwear products from Cikande occurred almost simultaneously with the findings of Cs-137 radiation in shrimp and cloves some time ago.

"It looks like May. It (the shrimp case) was first caught in August. But it looks like the airborne contamination will occur in May," he said.