Chasing the ⁵⁵Cs-137 in the Environment on Shrimp Export Rejection: A Marker to Slag-Concrete Fly Ash Alkali Advantage over Commercial Activators
Abstract
Regarding the Cs-137 exposure cases on 2 September 2025, the Environment Minister of the Republic of Indonesia declared a plan to pursue civil and criminal legal action against both PT Peter Metal Technology as the first party and the Management of Modernland region Cikande, Serang District, Banten Province, as the second party. The ministry stated that after decontamination at the first point, the radiation rate is then below the permitted threshold of 0.4 microsieverts per hour, the same as before exposure. A comprehensive health investigation will be conducted for employees and surrounding residents. Executing Cs-137 SOP waste handling and revealing that carelessness in SOP is a crime are the aims of this study. The hypothesis is that radioactive Cs-137 waste found in foods, spices, and cloves in Indonesia originated from negligent and careless handling of scrap iron exposure sewage waste steels from ex-batteries and electronic devices. The method involved
hypothesis testing using parsimony, Bayesian analysis, and network analysis on Cs-137 in non-nuclear reactor pollution. The results are presented in two tables and two figures that support the understanding of waterborne, highly soluble Cs-137 in alkali-activated materials (AAM). The discussion explains why waste SOP handling should be strictly enforced globally. Cs-137 from waste could be more hazardous than Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters because the locations are not detected by people; only then leukemia prevalence is highly reported. The conclusion emphasizes that with the transformation to electric cars, Cs-137 doping in ceramic industry 4.0, and alkali-activated concrete, the hazardous nature of Cs-137 should be handled with restrictive covenants until the value and enjoyment of adjoining land and seawater shrimp are preserved.
Keywords
Download Options
Introduction
Cesium-137 contamination in shrimp, spice, and clove was reported in Cikande [1]. The airborne Cs-137 and the location of the radioactive Cs-137 exposure area, along with the source of contamination, became a national topic of concern. The Environment Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq (HFN), declared a plan to pursue both civil and criminal legal action against both parties in Cikande, Serang District, Banten Province [2]. The two parties are: first party PT PMT Peter Metal Technology, and the second party is the management of Modernland region Cikande (PT Modern Industrial Estate). HFN stated to journalists in Serang on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, that environmental pollution cases cannot be resolved through out-of-court mediation and must be brought to justice. The scrap iron/steel mills industry case in civil court-crime court is intended to have a deterrent effect so that metal mills industries cannot be negligent in their business operations, where environmental pollution falls under section 98 verse 1. PT PMT is suspected of milling scrap metal containing Cs-137 without knowing the level of hazardous content (Fig. 1). Nuclear pollutant Cs-137 in Serang is estimated to have come from water exposure or overseas sources. Ignorance or carelessness does not erase the responsibility of the milling company and parties that break the law.
Conclusion
Battery raw materials, metal scrap, concrete scrap, imports, and exports from groundwater or aquifers—not headwater to lower sections of rivers—should be managed with proper training. The end reservoir collection and storage should be transparent, accountable, and have clear instructions. No ignorance, no carelessness globally about these cases is permitted. Cs-137 in many locations—from shrimp to spices and cloves—will be a good indicator to detect careless executive, judiciary, and legislative actions. No compromise on this. Cs-137 waste could be more hazardous than Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters because not every location is detected. Moreover, with the widespread transformation to electric cars and Cs-137 doping in concrete and ceramic Industry 4.0, the hazardous nature of Cs-137 should be handled with restrictive covenants until the value and enjoyment of adjoining land and seawater shrimp are preserved.
References
(1). Detik, Oct 1-2025. Mengenal Radioaktif Cesium-137 yang ditemukan di Cikande, Seperti Apa Risikonya https://www.detik.com/edu/detikpedia/d-8139480/mengenal-radioaktif-cesium-137-yang-ditemukan-ei-cikande-seperti-apa-risikonya
(2). CNN Indonesia. AS Temukan Radioaktif di Cengkeh Indonesia, Terkontaminasi dari mana? Problem Cs-137 in shrimp, spices and cloves. CNN Indonesia, Oct 1-2025. KLH Bakal Tuntut PT PMT dan Modern Cikande Buntut Cemaran Radioaktif. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20251001145739-20-1279786/klh-bakal-tuntut-pt-pmt-dan-modern-cikande-buntut-cemaran-radioaktif
(3). Kompas, Oct 6- 2025. Paparan Radioaktif Cikande Dinilai Akibat Sikap Ceroboh. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/10/06/21064971/paparan-radioaktif-cikande-dinilai-akibat-sikap-ceroboh
(4). Antara, Oct 5-2025. Limbah radioaktif Cesium-137 Cikande, dari mana kontaminasi muncul? https://www.antaranews.com/video/5154481/limbah-radioaktif-cesium-137-cikande-dari-mana-kontaminasi-muncul
(5). Shicholin OO, Papynov EK, Belov AA, Ivanov NP, Buravlev IY, Lembikov AO, Dvornik MI, Chigrin PG, et al. Immobilization of 137Cs in NaY type zeolite matrices using various heat treatment methods. Solid State Sci 2024; 154, Aug 2024, 107619.
(6). Kausar A, Sattar A, Xu C, Zhang S, Kang Z, Zhang Y. Advent of alkali metal doping: a roadmap for the evolution of perovskite solar cells. Chem Soc Rev 2021;50(4): 2696-2736.
(7). Mollaamin F, Monajjemi, M. Effect of Rubidium/Cesium Doping on (Lithium, Sodium, Potassium)-Ion Batteries through
Germanium Silicon Oxide Anode Materials: An Architectural Design for Energy Storage Devices. Russ J Phys Chem B 2025; 19(3):737-751.
(8). Mollaamin F. Anchoring of 2D layered materials of Ge5Si5O20 for (Li/Na/K)-(Rb/Cs) batteries towards Eco-friendly energy storage. BMC Chem 2025; 19(1):1-13.
(9). Mollaamin F. Modeling Hydrogen-Capture with SnO2-SiO2-Based Materials Doped by Alkali Metal. Chemistry, Physics and Technol of Surface 2025;16(3):360-375.
(10). Ma M, Li J, Zhu X, Liu K, Huang K, Yuan G. Yue S, et al. Enhancing multifunctional photocatalysis with acetate-assisted cesium doping and unlocking the potential of Z-scheme solar water splitting. Carbon Energy 2024: 6(3): e447.
(11). Kulkarni GK, Mali SS, Patil JV, Mali AS, Kodam PM, Hong CK 2025. Unveiling the impact of cesium doping and functionalized carbon nanotubes on CsxFA1-xPbI3 performance: Insights from SCAPS-1D simulations. Solar Energy 2025:299:113698.
(12). Izrael’yants KR, Orlov AP, Omont AB, Chirkova EG. Effect of the cesium and potassium doping of multiwalled carbon nanotubes grown in an electrical arc on their emission characteristics. Phys of the Solid State 2017;59(4):838-44
(13). Kumanek B. Milowska KZ, Przypis L, Stando G, Matuszek K, MacFarlane D, Payne MC, et al. Doping engineering of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Nitrogen Compounds Using Basicity and Alignment. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022;14(22):25861-25877.
(14). Bahmanrokh G, 2025 Pollucite Ceramics and Glass-Ceramics As advanced waste form for the immobilization of Cs- loaded IONSIV Wastes ACS publisher Environ Sci Technol 2025,59,16,79487959.
(15). Meyer A, Schmied S, Gottschalk A, Herrmann J. Procedure for determining the activity concentration of Cs-137 in seawater by proportional counting. Version November 2017/ verified February 2022. Publisher ISSN 1865-8725.
(16). Zheng Z, Yang J, Cui M, Yang K, Shang H, Ma X, Li Y, 2023. Adsorption/Desorption Performances of Simulated Radioactive Nuclide Cs+ on the Zeolite-Rich Geopolymer from the Hydrothermal Synthesis of Fly Ash. Energies 2023;16(23):7815.
(17). Proust V, Leybros A, Gossard A, David T, Mao Z, Li Y, Hu S, et al. Influence of porous aluminosilicate grain size materials in experimental and modelling Cs+ adsorption kinetics and wastewater column process. J Water Process Eng 2024:106066.
(18). Milyutin V, Nekrasova N, Kozlov P, Slobodyuk A, Markova D, Shaidullin S, Feoktistov K, et al. Removal of Cs-137 from Liquid Alkaline High-Level Radwaste Simulated Solution by Sorbents of Various Classes. Sustainability 2023; 15(11): 8734.
(19). Pang M, Zou J, Mao H, Xu Y, Zhou H. Selective cesium extraction from highly saline solution using hybrid capacitive deionization with zinc-doped manganese hexacyanoferrate electrode. J Hazardous Materials 2025; 48:136889.
(20). He P, Wang R, Fu S, Wang M, Cai D, Ma G, Wang M, Yuan J, et al. Safe trapping of cesium into doping-enhanced pollucite structure by geopolymer precursor technique. J Hazard Mater 2019; 5:367-88.
(21). Wu Y, Jia Z, Qi X, Wang W, Guo S. Alkali-activated materials without commercial activators: a review. J Mater Sc 2024; 59:3780-8.
(22). Qin Y, Qu C, Ma C, and Zhou L. One-Part Alkali-Activated Materials: State of the Art and Perspectives. Polymers 2022;14:5046.
(23). Franca S, Sousa LN, Silva MVdMS, BorgesPHR, Bezerra ACdS. Preliminary Reactivity Test for Precursors of Alkali- Activated Materials. Buildings 2023;13(3):693.
(24). Ge K, Gu X, Wang S, Wang S, Wang X, Hu Z, Wang H, et al. Preparation of low-carbon cementitious materials based on fly ash from biomass power plant by alkali-salt solid waste synergistic effect: Activator ratio optimization, hydration process and sustainability assessment. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Part A 2025;203:107970.
(25). Rossi L, de Lima LM, Sun Y, Dehn F, Provis JL, Ye G, De Schutter G. Future perspectives for Alkali-Activated Materials: from existing standards to structural applications. RILEM Technical Letters 2022; 7:159-77.
(26). Marvila MT, de Azevedo ARG, de Oliveira LB, de Castro Xavier G, Vieira CmF. Mechanical, physical and durability properties of activated alkali cement based on blast furnace slag as a function of %Na2O. Case Studies in Construction Materials 2021;15, e00723.
(27). Kriven WM, Leonell C, Provis JL, Boccaccini AR, Attwell C, Ducman VS, Ferone C, et al. Why geopolymers and alkali-activated materials are key components of a sustainable world: A perspective contribution. Am Ceram Soc 2024; 107(8): 5159-77.
(28). Alhassan M, Alkhawaideh A, Betoush N, Alkhawaldeh M, Huseien GF, Amaireh L, et al. Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Alkali-Activated Binders. Biomimetics (Basel) 2023;8(1):58.
(29). Zhang C, Liu J, He X. Effect of Activated Fly Ash on Engineering Properties and Soil Structure in a Compacted Natural Soil Liner. J Environ Eng 2025; 151(9).
(30). Tian Y, Song P, Viola G, Shi J, Li J, Jin L, Hu W et al. Silver niobate perovskites: structure properties and multifunctional applications. J Mater Chem 2022: 10(28): pp14747-87.
(31). Abhishek HS, Prashant S, Kamath MV, Kumar M. Fresh Mechanical and Durability Properties of Alkali Activated Fly Ash-Slag Concrete: A Review. Innov Infrastruct Solut 2022;7(116):1-14.
(32). Palomo A, 1999. Alkali-activated fly ashes: A cement for the future. Cement and Concrete Research 1999;29(8):1323- 29.
(33). Puertas F, Martinez-Ramirez S, Alonso S, Vazquez T. Alkali-activated fly ash/slag cements: Strength behaviour and hydration product. Cement and concrete research 2000;30(10) 1625-32.
(34). Skvara F. Alkali Activated Material or Geopolymer? Ceramics-Silikaty 2007; 51(3):173-177.
(35). Iyer RK, Kelly JC. Life-Cycle Inventory of Critical Materials: Nickel, Copper, Titanium, and Rare-Earth Elements.
Energy Systems and Infrastructure Analysis Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Dec 2022. US. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information.
(36). Jose SA, Gallant A, Gomez PL, Jaggers Z, Johansson E, LaPierre Z, Menezes PL. Solid-State Lithium Batteries: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives. Batteries 2025;11(3): p0.
(37). Zhou J, Liu T, Lei X, Zhang S, Luo Y, Yuan R, Wang Y. Cesium doping strategy boost Perovskite type bifunctional electrocatalyst toward efficient and durable rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Chem Eng Sc 2025; 314: 121820.
(38). Yubonmhat K, Gunhakoon P, Sopapan P, Prasertchiewchan N. Ordinary-Portland -cement solidification of Cs-137 contaminated electric arc furnace dust from steel production industry in Thailand. Heliyon 2024;10(3): e25792.
(39). Chen MH, Lu YJ, Chang YJ, Wu CC, Wu CI. Interfacial Reactions and Doping in Organic Light Emitting Diodes Incorporated with Cesium-based compounds. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters 2010; 13(6): H203-05.
(40). Wei C, Liu J, Chao Y, Jia S, Gao Y, Saha RA, Torchio R, et al. Efficient capture of Cs+ and Sr2+ by layered thioniobates and thiotantalate and insight into the structure-property relationship. Sc China Chem 2025;68:4856-66.
(41). Rao GS and Narayana KVL. Design and Development of Level Transmitter using Capacitive Sensor with Wireless Readout. International Journal on Electrical Engineering and Informatics / IJEEI 2021;13(2): 418-29.
(42). Han MS, Liu Z, Liu X, Yoon J, Lee EC. Cesium Doping for Performance Improvement of Lead(II)-acetate-Based Perovskite Solar Cells. Materials (Basel) 2021;14(2):363.
(43). Zhang X, Ren X, Liu B, Munir R, Zhu X , Yang D, Li J, Liu Y, Smilgies D-M, et al. Stable high efficiency two- dimensional perovskite solar cells via cesium doping. Energy & Environmental Sc 2017;10: 2095-2102.
(44). Machin A, Diaz F, Cotto MC, Duconge J, Marquez F. Recent Advances in Dendrite Suppression Strategies for Solid-State Lithium Batteries: From Interface Engineering to Material Innovations. Batteries 2025;11(8),304
(45). Nakamura S, Awai K, Komi M, Morita K, Namimoto T, Yanaga Y, Utsunomiya D, et al. Signal intensity of lanthanum carbonate on magnetic resonance images: Phantom study. Japanese J Rad 2011;29(5):366-70.
(46). Zhu Y, Yue H, Aslam MJ, Bai Y, Zhu Z, Wei F. Controllable Preparation and Strengthening Strategies towards High- Strength Carbon Nanotube Fibers. Nanomaterials 2022;12(19):3478.
(47). Abubakre OK, Medupin RO, Akintunde IB, Jimoh OT, Abdulkareem AS, Muriana RA, James JA, et al. Carbon nanotube- reinforced polymer nanocomposites for sustainable biomedical applications: A review. J Sci Advanced Materials and Devices 2023;8(1):100557.
(48). Kandy SB, Simon GP, Cheng W, Zank J, Saito K, and Bhattacharyya AR. Effect of Organic Modification on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Dispersions in Highly Concentrated Emulsions. ACS Omega 2019;4(4):6647-59.
(49). Freitas B, Nunes WG, Soares DM, Rufino FC, Moreira CM, Da Silva LM, Zanin H. Robust, flexible, freestanding and high surface area activated carbon and multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite material with outstanding electrode properties for aqueous-based supercapacitor. Materials Advances 2021;2(13):4264-76.
(50). Pandey PC, Yadav HP, Tiwari AK, Sawant SN, Sinharoy P, Banerjee D, Narayan RJ. Cited 4 Prussian blue nanoparticles- mediated sensing and removal of Cs-137. Front Environ Sci 2023 Sec Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment 30 Aug 2023;11.
(51). Liu H, Tong L, Su M, Chen D, Song G, Zhou Y. 2023.The latest research trends in the removal of cesium from radioactive wastewater; A review based on data-driven and visual analysis. Sc The Total Environment 2023;89: 161664.
(52). Yang C, Wu Q, Xie W, Zhang X, Brozena A, Zheng J, Garaga MN, et al. Copper-coordinated cellulose ion conductors for solid-state batteries. Nature 2021;598: 590-611?
(53). Wan H, Wang Z, Zhang W, He X & Wang C. Interface design for all-solid-state-lithium batteries. Nature 2023;623(7988):739-44.
(54). Zhang H, Yu Z, Cheng J, Chen H, Huang X, Tian C. Halide/sulfide composite solid-state electrolyte for Li-anode based all-solid-state batteries. Chinese Chemical Letters 2023;34(11): 108228.
(55). Xu R, Zhang X-Q, Cheng X-B, Peng H-J, Zhao C-Z, Yan C, and Huang J-Q. Artificial Soft-Rigid Protective Layer for Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anode. Adv Funct Mater 2018;1-7.
(56). Xu X, Cui T, McConohy G, Jagad HD, Lee SS, Wang S, Melamed C, Yang Y, et all. Heterogenous doping via nanoscale coating impacts the mechanics of Li intrusion in brittle solid electrolytes Nature Materials 2026: Jan 16.
(57). Pinajian JJ. A cesium-137-barium-137m isotope generator. J Chem Educ 1967;44(4):212.
(58). Lee SH, Choi M, Moon JK, Lee S, Choi J, and Kim S. Electrochemical Removal of Cesium Ions via Capacitive Deionization Using an Ion-Exchange Layer Coated on a Carbon Electrode. Appl Sci 2021; 11(21): 10042.
(59). Zhu C, Yang G, Li H, Du D, and Lin Y. Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors Based on Nanomaterials and Nanostructures. Anal Chem 2015;87(1): 2330-49.
(60). Hirohata A, Yamada K, Nakatani Y, Prejbeanu I-L, Dieny B, Pirro P, Hillebrand B. Review on spintronics Principles and device applications. J Magnetism and Mag Mat 2020; 166711.
(61). Towle C. Fieldbus in hazardous areas/IEC 60079-27. Measurement and Control 2004;37(3):80-83.
(62). Felser C, Balke B. Spintronics: A Challenge for Materials Science and Solid-State Chemistry. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2007:46(5):669-99.
(63). Rauwel P, Rauwel E. Towards the Extraction of Radioactive Cesium-137 from Water via Graphene/CNT and Nanostructured Prussian Blue Hybrid Nanocomposites: A Review. Nanomaterials (Basel), 2019:9(5)682.
(64). Paramsothy M, 70th Year Anniversary of Carbon Nanotube Discovery-Focus on Real World Solutions. Nanomaterials 2023:13:3162.
(65). Li Y, Liu Y, Hu N. Reinforcement Effects of CNTs for Polymer-Based Nanocomposites [Internet]. Carbon Nanotubes- Polymer Nanocomposites (Internet]. Carbon Nanotubes-Polymer Nanocomposites. InTech:2011.
(66). Sakamoto M, Speck JS, Dresselhaus MS. Cesium and bromine doping into hexagonal boron nitride. J Materials Research / JMR 1986; 1(5):685-92.
(67). Kumawat NK, Yuan Z, Bai S, Gao F. 2019. Metal Doping/Alloying of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystal and their Applications in Light-Emitting Diodes with Enhanced Efficiency and Stability. IJC 2019;59(8):695-707.
(68). Dastidar S, Egger DA, Tan LZ, Cromer SB, Dillon AD, Liu S, Kronik L, Rappe AM, and Fafarman AT. High Chloride Doping Levels Stabilize the Perovskite Phase of Cesium Lead Iodide. Nano Lett 2016;16(6):3563-70.
(69). Srour M, Fu R, Blomquist S, Shi J, Forsythe E, and Morton D. Effects of Cesium Carbonate Doping on Blue Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). ARL 2014, May. ARL-TR-6914:AD1116873. Defence Technical Information Centre.
(70). Fan R, Fang S, Liang C, Liang Z, and Zhong H. Controllable one-step doping synthesis for the white-light emission of cesium copper iodide perovskites. Photonic Research 2021;9(5): 1-7.
(71). Chen MH, Lu YJ, Chang YJ, Wu CC, Wu CI. Interfacial Reactions and Doping in Organic Light Emitting Diodes incorporated with cesium-based compound. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters 2010;13(6): H203-H205.
(72). Barbot A, Bin CD, Lucas B, Ratier B, Aldissi M. N-type doping and thermoelectric properties of co- sublimed cesium-carbonate-doped fullerene. J Materials Sc 2013;48(7):2785-2789.
(73). Rutstrom D, Stand L, Kapusta M, Windsor D. Xu H, Meicher CL, Zhuravieva M. Impurity-Enhanced Core Valence Luminescence Via Zn-Doping in Cesium Magnesium Chlorides. Optical Materials X 2024; 24(3):100349.
(74). Clugston M and Flemming R. Advanced Chemistry. New York: US Oxford University Press, 2000
(75). Wu X, Tian M, Guo Y, Zheng Q, Luo L, Lin D. Phase transition, dielectric, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of La-doped BiFeO3-BaTiO3 multiferroic ceramics. J Materials Sc: Materials in Electronics 2014;26(2):978-84.
(76). Sharma S, Tomar M, Kumar ASHOK, Puri N, Gupta V. Multiferroic properties of BiFeO3/BaTiO3 multilayered thin film. Physica B Condense 2014;448:125-127.
(77). Ivanov M, Sherstyuk NE, Mishina ED, Sigov AS, Mukhortov M, Moshnyaga VT. Enhanced Magnetization and Ferroelectric Switching in Multiferroic BST/BNFO Superstructures. Ferroelectrics 2012;433(1):158-63.
(78). Tseng SF, Cheng SJ, Hsiao WT, Hsu SH, Kuo CC. High -performance humidity sensors based on SnO2/Ti3C2Tx nanocomposites coated on porous graphene electrodes. Ceramics International 2024;50(21), Part C:43728-37.
(79). Adams S, Allday J. Advanced Physics. New York, US: Oxford University Press, 2000: p241.
(80). Huang Y, Bird RN, Heidrich O. A review of the use of recycled solid waste materials in asphalt pavements. Resources, Conversation and Recycling 2007;52(1): 58-73.