Latest news: 9 workers exposed to radioactivity in Cikande, Banten

Serang – A total of nine workers in Cikande Banten were exposed to the radionuclide Cs-137 based on the results of the Whole Body Counting health test by the Ministry of Health. The latest condition of these workers was revealed by the Ministry of Health. The case of radioactive substance Cesium-137 contamination is still being investigated. The Ministry of Environment (KLH) said that 10 points in Cikande, Serang, Banten were contaminated with the radioactive substance cesium-137 which was spread through industrial areas and residential areas. The Ministry of the Environment’s current focus is decontamination from exposure to radioactive substances. Joint officers from the National Police Mobile Brigade, KLH, the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), and the local Health Service are trying to deal with exposure to radioactive substances. Scroll to continue content “The government wants to solve this cesium-137 case from all sides as quickly as possible, from decontamination we will carry out direct decontamination at the 10 identified points within a maximum of 1 month. We will try while monitoring the progress,” said Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq. Current status of workers exposed to radioactivity. The nine workers are now in good condition. They are workers in the industrial area in Cikande. In total, no one was hospitalized. “Good condition, no symptoms,” said head of the Ministry of Health’s communication bureau, Aji Muhawarman, when asked on Thursday (16/10/2025). Aji said that the nine workers exposed to radioactivity have returned to their homes. Acting Director-General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Murti Utami, previously said that the nine workers were undergoing treatment in hospital. Patients are given Prussian Blue pills to help eliminate contamination from the radioactive substance cesium-137. There are several stages of investigation that patients exposed to Cs-137 must undergo. First, the patient undergoes a recording meter examination. This test shows whether there is external exposure to radiation on the body or clothing. If the result is positive, disinfection is carried out immediately, by dressing and showering, and then re-examination. The next stage is a blood test. This is because a decrease in lymphocytes can be an early indicator that someone has been exposed to contamination by the radioactive substance cesium-137. The final determination is with a Whole Body Counter (WBC), when the person is found to have reduced lymphocytes. WBC can detect exposure to internal radiation or cesium entering the body. Environment Minister did not expect Minister Hanif said he never thought there would be cesium-137 radioactive contamination in Cikande. He said the radioactive contamination there was a collective negligence. “The results of the investigation are that all the waste was produced from PT BMT which neglected to store it, then, if it was true, then who would have thought there was cesium, right? So maybe we were all careless,” Hanif told journalists in Central Jakarta, Wednesday (15/10). He hopes that the handling of radioactive pollution will be completed soon. He assured that no activities will be carried out in the area without the supervision of the task force. “So we are dealing with it, hopefully it will be finished soon. But what is clear is that we have closed everything, we are not allowed to go out for all activities without being escorted by the task force, the most important thing is that we are all safe,” he said. Regional government prepares evacuation sites. The Banten Provincial Government together with the Banten Regional Police have prepared three locations to evacuate residents affected by Cikande by Cikande radioactive radiation. Residents who will be evacuated are those living in radiation red areas or zones. Andra Soni, governor of Banten, said he held several coordination meetings on dealing with radiation. He said that the areas included in the red and yellow zones have been mapped, including technical handling matters in the field. “We will carry out temporary relocation of the affected local communities until the disinfection process is completed. The Regional Police has already prepared it, the Serang Regency Government has also, including the Provincial Government. We just have to choose which location is more efficient so that the temporarily relocated people can carry out their activities as usual, such as schools and others,” explains Andra Soni. Andra Soni also instructed the Banten Province Health Service (Dinkes) together with the Serang District Health Office to check the health of the people around the area. Vehicles entering and exiting are also intensively checked to ensure they are completely sterile. Banten Regional Police Chief Inspector General Hengki added the Banten Regional Police’s commitment to participate in dealing with Cesium-137. “We are very concerned and ready to cooperate with the attention of the central government to overcome Cesium-137 which has been handled by the Ministry together with the Chemical, Biological and Radioactive Corps of the Indonesian Police Mobile Brigade Corps for several months,” he said. Hengki hopes that the process of evacuating residents from the red zone can be carried out immediately to the places that have been prepared. He said there were three places that were used as evacuation sites for residents. “We hope that residents who will be declared to temporarily leave the red zone will be evacuated to three points in the near future, namely BLK, PGRI building and Wisma Bhayangkara. We are ready to evacuate and cooperate with the Serang Regency government,” he said. Also watch the video “KSPSI President requests that radioactive pollution in Cikande be fully investigated” here: (idn/idn)