Indonesia Quarantine destroys Cs-137-tainted shrimp for safety

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin) confirmed that the destruction of 5.7 tons of shrimp in 494 cartons contaminated with radioactive Cesium-137 was an effort to maintain food safety.

Barantin's Director of Fish Quarantine Measures, Akhmad Alfaraby, said the destruction measure is a manifestation of the government's commitment to safeguarding Indonesia's food and biological resource security.

"This is Barantin's commitment to safeguarding food safety," he remarked in a statement on Sunday (November 16).

In collaboration with the Cesium-137 Handling Task Force, Barantin destroyed shrimp products contaminated with Cesium-137 on Saturday (November 15).

According to Alfaraby, this measure is crucial to the government's mission of ensuring all circulating food products are safe, healthy, and free from risks to people and the environment.

"A total of 494 cartons containing contaminated shrimp were destroyed based on the recommendations of Barantin and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten)," he informed.

The destruction was carried out in an integrated manner with the Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), Bapeten, and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) through the Cesium-137 Cluster Unit.

"This cross-agency collaboration ensures that all handling procedures and the destruction process comply with radiation safety standards. The destruction took place at PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) in Bogor," Alfaraby added.

Meanwhile, the Deputy for Pollution and Environmental Damage Control at the KLH/BPLH, Rasio Ridho Sani, said the destruction was conducted using a vertical stoker incinerator equipped with Air Emission Control Equipment and a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS).

"The ash from the incineration is processed and then placed in a landfill," Sani explained.

He added that the destruction process uses strict radiation safety and environmental protocols, ensuring it remains safe for the surrounding environment.

"One destruction process takes four hours. We will destroy one ton today, and then we will continue," he said.

The shrimp destruction was carried out after the United States authorities found 494 cardboard boxes with outer surfaces contaminated by the radioactive substance Cs-137.