Lower Thirds:

0:03	Report by Cinta Zanidya & Kenya Winanti
0:29	Nani/ local resident
1:12	Bara Hasibuan/ investigator
1:51	Toyyib/ shrimp farmer
2:30	Yanuar Toto Raharjo/ Shrimp Club Indonesia

Script: 

Radioactive material from a steel smelter. Wherever you look around the industrial complex in Banten, just outside Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, you can find it. Black, rock-like waste that turned out to be highly contaminated with Cesium-137--a dangerous radioactive substance. People here live with it, and many even bought it directly from the smelter.

SOT – Nani ((no second name)) (local resident): “We use the rocks to fill our yards. We don’t know what’s in it or what it contains, we only know it’s for landfilling. It’s waste from the factory, so we just take it for our yard.”

Indonesia has no nuclear power plants but investigators found the material was acquired from abroad by this steel smelter owned by Peter Metal Technology. Once inside the smelter, the radiation spread through the wider industrial zone, including to a shrimp processing plant.

SOT – Bara Hasibuan (investigator): “The shrimp got contaminated through airborne dust. Fine particles from the metal scrap carried [the Cesium-137], and through the air, that dust made its way into the shrimp facility.”

That’s how the case came to light. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration tested the shrimp and raised the alarm. Later, Indonesia’s cloves were also tested positive for radiation. For Indonesia’s shrimp industry, it’s a serious crisis.

SOT – Toyyib ((no second name)) (shrimp farmer, Banyuwangi): “Because of this radioactive issue, shrimp prices dropped even more. All exports to the U.S. got shut down. The shrimp have to be sold domestically but the local market cannot take it all. So, the prices slumped.”

Indonesia exports nearly 90% of its shrimp and the U.S. is its biggest customer. Now, every shipment must be certified radiation-free. All shrimp farms across the country are feeling the impact. Industry leaders are urging the government to act.

SOT –  Yanuar Toto Raharjo (Shrimp Club Indonesia, Banyuwangi Chapter): “There needs to be clear zoning regulations in this country. Zoning is important — not just between factories, but also for shrimp farms. We still don’t have proper zoning for shrimp cultivation.”

That includes Nani’s family. Her neighbourhood has been sealed off as a high-contamination zone. But no one has told her what that really means — and she has nowhere else to go. The full extent of the radioactive fallout is still unclear. What is certain: the cleanup and rebuilding trust will take years.