Indonesia has halted imports of scrap metal after tracing radioactive contamination found at an industrial site and in shrimp shipments to the US to local metal processors.
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The suspension is effective immediately, Bara Krishna Hasibuan, an official with the government task force investigating the radiation findings, said in a text message on Thursday.
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the pause aims to ensure that the local steel-recycling industry meets radiation safety standards, with companies required to install radiation monitoring and emission control systems, state news agency Antara reported.
The import halt follows an investigation into findings last month of Caesium-137 at a metal-processing hub of an industrial estate in western Java that supplies materials for construction and manufacturing.
The probe was initiated after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August reported the detection of trace amounts of the radioactive material in frozen shrimp shipments from one of Indonesia’s largest prawn companies, leading to recalls by companies such as Walmart.
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The shrimp company, PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, has facilities near the contaminated sites of the industrial estate.
The government task force said on Wednesday that authorities had identified radiation at 22 production facilities in the industrial zone, with one since decontaminated and the remainder undergoing clean-up.