In overseeing the handling of radioactive Cs-137, Hanif was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Environment, task force members from the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), as well as representatives from the Radioactive Nuclear Biological Chemical Unit (KBRN). Members of Gegana from the Indonesian Police Mobile Brigade Corps were also involved in ensuring tight security procedures, so that the radiation does not spread through the air (airborne).
The radioactive Cs-137 contamination is being transported in covered trucks lined with lead (Pb) metal. The task force is also implementing decontamination in five other locations suspected of being contaminated with Cs-137.
For environmental recovery at the contamination source locations, Hanif admitted to considering the experts' advice to plant sunflowers. "This plant is known to have vegetative capabilities in reducing and absorbing potential radiation," he said.
Zaki Suud, a professor of nuclear science at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said the radiation possibly originated from users of chemical substances who did not follow proper waste handling procedures. There are also suspicions regarding foreign entities dumping nuclear waste in Indonesian territory.
