Indonesia seizes eight containers of imported zinc powder contaminated with caesium-137

JAKARTA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia has seized eight containers of imported zinc powder found to be contaminated with radioactive caesium-137, an official said on Monday, as the Southeast Asian country steps up efforts to intercept contaminated goods leaving and entering the country.

The containers originated from Angola and are currently being held at a Jakarta port pending the completion of administrative procedures for re-export, Bara Hasibuan, the spokesman with a special government task force, said in a press statement.

Indonesia formed the task force to tackle the issue of radioactive contamination after shipments of seafood, cloves and footwear to the United States were found to have unacceptable levels of caesium earlier this year.

Previously shipments of zinc powder originating from the Philippines were found to have been contaminated with Cs-137 and had been returned, the task force said.

Caesium-137 enters the environment as a result of past nuclear tests or accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, but it is also used in some industrial applications like oil well logging.

Indonesia has no nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants.