(Jakarta, 17th Comprehensive Report) Indonesia's Quarantine Agency (Barantin) has confirmed the destruction of 5.7 tons of shrimp products, totaling 494 boxes, contaminated with radioactive Cesium-137. This move aims to safeguard national food safety and biological resource protection.
Director of Fisheries Quarantine Measures, Akhma Afalabi, stated that this action demonstrates the government's firm commitment to ensuring food safety. “This is one of Barantin’s efforts to uphold food safety,” he said in a statement on Sunday (November 16).
Barantin, in cooperation with the Cesium-137 Special Handling Team, carried out the destruction procedure on Saturday (November 15). He emphasized that ensuring all food in circulation is healthy, safe, and hazard-free is a critical government task.
“Based on recommendations from Barantin and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), we destroyed 494 boxes of contaminated shrimp,” he said.
The destruction process was conducted in coordination with multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), Bapeten, and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and was overseen by the Cesium-137 Disposal Unit at the PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) facility in Bogor.
Afalabi added that inter-agency cooperation ensured all handling and destruction procedures met radiation safety standards.
KLH/BPLH Deputy Minister for Pollution and Environmental Damage Control, Rasio Ridho Sani, noted that the destruction used a vertical grate incinerator equipped with air emission control devices and a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS).
“The ashes from incineration will undergo further treatment before being sent to a landfill,” he said.
He emphasized that the entire destruction operation strictly adhered to radiation safety and environmental protection standards, ensuring no risk to the surrounding environment. “Each destruction session takes four hours. Today, one ton has been destroyed, and the process will continue.”
This shrimp destruction operation was initiated after US authorities discovered Cesium-137 contamination on the external packaging of 494 boxes.
Barantin, in cooperation with the Cesium-137 Special Handling Team, carried out the destruction procedure on Saturday (November 15). He emphasized that ensuring all food in circulation is healthy, safe, and hazard-free is a critical government task.
“Based on recommendations from Barantin and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), we destroyed 494 boxes of contaminated shrimp,” he said.
The destruction process was conducted in coordination with multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), Bapeten, and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and was overseen by the Cesium-137 Disposal Unit at the PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) facility in Bogor.
Afalabi added that inter-agency cooperation ensured all handling and destruction procedures met radiation safety standards.
KLH/BPLH Deputy Minister for Pollution and Environmental Damage Control, Rasio Ridho Sani, noted that the destruction used a vertical grate incinerator equipped with air emission control devices and a Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS).
“The ashes from incineration will undergo further treatment before being sent to a landfill,” he said.
He emphasized that the entire destruction operation strictly adhered to radiation safety and environmental protection standards, ensuring no risk to the surrounding environment. “Each destruction session takes four hours. Today, one ton has been destroyed, and the process will continue.”
This shrimp destruction operation was initiated after US authorities discovered Cesium-137 contamination on the external packaging of 494 boxes.