Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) personnel of the National Police Mobile Brigade’s Gegana unit decontaminate a vehicle believed to be contaminated by Caesium-137 at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Serang, Banten, on Oct 7, 2025. - Antara
JAKARTA: Materials weighing 248.4 tonnes contaminated by Caesium-137 (Cs-137) have been transported from 13 locations outside the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Cikande, Serang regency, Banten, and are being stored there temporarily to prevent radiation exposure in the surrounding environment, following the discovery of radioactive contamination at the industrial estate.
Deputy for pollution and environmental damage control (PPKL) at the Environment Ministry Rasio Ridho Sani said the transportation and storage processes were conducted under tight supervision by a joint team.
“As of Monday, the total of contaminated materials amounted to 248.4 tonnes,” he said on Monday (Oct 20) in Serang, as quoted by Antara news agency.
From the 13 locations, two locations, identified as A and D, have been declared “clear and clean” while two others, identified as C1 (L) and I, are still undergoing a cleaning process.
Rasio said the joint team had also decontaminated 22 businesses inside the industrial estate with 20 of these having been declared “clear and clean”.
“The joint team is conducting mitigation efforts and you can be sure that the decontamination activities are conducted according to safety standards,” he said.
The joint team consists of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialists from the National Police Mobile Brigade’s Gegana unit, personnel from the nuclear, biological and chemical (Nubika) unit of the Army, and personnel from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) and staff from the Serang regency administration.
Rasio emphasised that the government was committed to handling the Cs-137 contamination completely and quickly to ensure public safety.
“This shows the government’s seriousness in handling the Caesium-137 case in Serang,” he said.
“We are working fast so that the public is protected and industrial activities can resume safely.”
He also said that positive indicators were seen from the monitoring portal, which showed there had been no vehicles exposed to Cs-137 since Oct. 17.
Meanwhile, Gegana CBRN unit chief Sr. Comr. Yopie Indra Prasetya Sepang added that the decontamination area was divided into several sectors to facilitate supervision.
“At C1 the dosage rate was under the threshold,” he said. “In F3 land stripping continues because the radiation dosage is still relatively high.”
Separately, Army Nubika unit chief Col. Yudil Hendro said land stripping and coring processes had been conducted to ensure ground safety. “If detection shows a dose under 2.5 microsieverts, soil samples will be examined at BRIN’s laboratory,” he said.
The results of the laboratory analysis form the basis for Bapeten to declare the location’s safety status.
“From the four decontamination sectors we’re handling, two have been completed and the other two are still ongoing. Everything is being done with care and safely,” he said.
Relocation Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said on Tuesday that 31 families, consisting of 91 people, had been relocated due to the Cs-137 contamination.
“The people from two locations, E and F, must be relocated,” he said after a meeting at the House of Representatives compound, as quoted by cnnindonesia.com.
“As far as I recall, the tentative number discussed during a meeting was 31 families, or 91 people.”
Later, he added, several residents outside both locations had also requested relocation because they were worried.
However, the ministry and Serang regency administration will initially focus on residents from locations E and F. Read also: FDA flags radioactive traces in Indonesian spice export Hanif said the residents would be temporarily sheltered at rented houses not far from their homes, using Serang regency funds.
“The relocation process will take a month. After their houses are decontaminated, the residents can return to their own homes,” he said.
Serang regency Social Affairs Agency head Yadi Priyadi Rochdian clarified that after verification following a clerical error, only 30 families needed to be relocated.
“These include eight families of 28 people from location E and 19 families from F2,” he said, as quoted by Antara. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
