Exposure To Cesium-137 Contains Senyap Danger, Triggers Nervous Cancer

Illustration: Residents sit on the terrace of their house close to the location where Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination was found in the Cikande Modern Industrial Estate, Serang, Banten/ANTARA PHOTO/Angga Budhiyanto/rwa.

BANDUNG - Professor of Nuclear Medicine at Padjadjaran University (Unpad) Achmad Hussein Kartamihardjame Calls the Cesium-137 radioactive exposure a silent danger that triggers cancer and neurological disorders.

Achmad said Cesium-137 has the potential to cause two types of deterministic and stochastic effects.

Deterministic effects such as burns on the skin can appear in a short time, but what is more worrying is the stochastic effect that works secretly and long term.

"The radiation exposure can cause body cells not to die, but continue to divide like cancer cells," said Achmad as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, October 9.

Cesium-137, according to Achmad, mimics potassium characteristics, so it can enter the body's cells and spread to the bone cord, affect the immune system, reduce the number of white blood cells and platelets, to trigger blood cancer.

In addition, he continued, if it spreads to the digestive tract, the exposure to Cesium-137 (Cs-137) can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration.

"When it reaches the brain, the symptoms can be very severe: convulsions, disorientations, to comas and deaths within hours or days," he said.

Achmad emphasized that Cesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years. This means that this radioactive compound can last a very long time in the human body.

"Those who are exposed are of course examined further to find out the impact on blood and reproductive system. But what is certain is that even if they are exposed, they will not infect other people," he said.

It is known that as many as nine people tested positive for Cesium-137 radioactive after the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) examined 1,562 workers and residents around the Cikande Modern Industrial Estate, Serang, Banten.

Despite being asymptomatic, the nine people were immediately treated and given decontaminated drug Prussian Blue. Intensive examinations were carried out following the findings of contamination of Cs-137 from a used iron smelting plant in the industrial area.

This investigation stems from a radioactive report on export frozen shrimp products intercepted in the United States (US) in March 2025. The radioactive exposure to shrimp packaging warehouses in Cikande is thought to have originated from wind-blown aerial dust from the factory.

Although contamination of shrimp is below the safe threshold, risks to residents and workers around the plant are still being taken seriously.

The examination of patients was carried out by medical personnel with special protection, including lead protective clothing to block exposure to gamma rays from Cs-137 which had high penetrate power.

This case raises serious concerns about the dangerous industrial waste control system in Indonesia. The public urges the government to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the iron smelting plant and ensure that there are no more radioactive leaks that endanger public health.