Indonesia finds traces of radioactive element at clove farm

JAKARTA Indonesia AP Indonesia detected traces of radioactive cesium at a clove plantation as it searches for the source of radioactive contamination that forced recalls of shrimp and spices exported to the U S a task force reviewing the issue announced Wednesday U S Food and Drug Administration leaders blocked the import of all spices processed by PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia in September after federal inspectors detected cesium in a shipment of cloves sent to California That was the second food product from Indonesia to be recalled from sale due to radioactive contamination this year following a recall of shrimp from another Indonesian company in August The task force identified cesium at a clove plantation in Lampung province It also inspected clove processing facilities in Surabaya city in East Java province and another plantation in Central Java province working with Indonesia s Nuclear Strength Regulatory Agency We can confirm that contamination has been uncovered on plantations in Lampung The contamination was exposed in limited quantities and has not spread to other areas or commodities commented Bara Hasibuan the task force s spokesperson in a written message The nuclear regulatory agency recommended a temporary halt to sales of contaminated clove products pending further laboratory testing while investigators continue to track the source of the contamination The ruling body is moving hastily to localize this contamination so that it does not spread to other areas The inhabitants and businesses are advised to remain calm and wait for the official laboratory test results Hasibuan announced The task force traced the earlier contamination of shrimp to a steel factory in the Cikande industrial estate around kilometers miles from the PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati shrimp processing facility which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U S each year Experts in nuclear radiation agree that vitality risks are low since only very low level of radioactivity were identified but they say it s vital to determine the contamination s source and share that information with the citizens Source