In September, containers filled with radioactive dust turned up in Indonesia and it was unclear who was responsible.
What happened?
In September, Indonesia refused entry to 23 containers containing radioactive zinc dust that appeared at the port of Jakarta. The shipment came from the Philippines, but officials are still scrambling to figure out who was responsible for the export.
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said the materials originated from Philippine manufacturer SteelAsia. They claimed Asia Steel sold the zinc powder to China’s Zanwang International Trading Company, which exported the boxes, the Maritime Executive reported.
However, SteelAsia has vehemently denied responsibility for the materials and is even considering taking legal action against PNRI.
The containers contain higher levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-137, a byproduct of processes such as steel manufacturing and radioactive fission.
Why is cesium-137 a concern?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cesium-137 is used in small amounts in industrial instrumentation and in cancer treatments. However, at high doses, it can cause burns, radiation sickness, and even death.
Improper handling of cesium-137 at the industrial level poses risks to public health. In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled shrimp from Indonesia that was found to be contaminated with cesium-137.
The radioactive material apparently originated from an Indonesian industrial site near the shrimp company, Bloomberg reported. The incident led Indonesia to halt scrap metal exports over concerns about contamination.
Since cesium is a by-product of nuclear fission, the fuel process for nuclear energy, the incident also revealed the difficulties in dealing with such waste. Nuclear reactors can produce large amounts of electricity without using dirty fuel, but they produce radioactive material, and as this disaster shows, no one seems willing to take responsibility.
What are we doing about radioactive materials?
Indonesia shipped the containers back to the Philippines, where they have been parked on a container ship outside Manila, according to the maritime agency. They cannot be unloaded until someone claims them and a plan is made for their disposal. SteelAsia said it had ordered the material to be buried but the situation remained unresolved.
However, around the world, some governments are making strides in remediating radioactive waste, from allocating funds to clean up industrial sites to repurposing radioactive materials into everyday products. Chinese researchers have even proposed using gamma rays to convert nuclear waste into safer materials that generate heat.
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