JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).

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[Hello Lance, this is interesting. this is your first post here so welcome. I’m leaving this here in moderation so that Jo will see it and respond also.It is long and probably off-topic for the place you have put it.] ED
[Still struggling with Internet. I wouldn’t normally say yes. But don’t want to hold this back! Thank you!– Jo]
I had been pondering the recent widespread radioactive shrimp detections
The problem was initially identified by scanning ship containers at various ports around the world by gamma ray emissions testing
Because Cs137 was determined to be the cause in Indonesia I had a look at the testing methods and radioactive isotope signatures involved
It is apparent that the Cs137 detection is likely a type 1 error (false positive)
Generally radiological testing is limited to a few specific isotopes indicative of the big three nuclear testing byproducts (Cs, Co, Ir) with the aim of such testing being to establish a culprit
It seems that there has been a misidentification of cosmogenic Beryllium-7 and Beryllium-10 as the anthropogenic fission product Cesium-137
By analyzing spectral overlaps in both gamma and beta emissions, it seems to me that surges in cosmic ray flux—such as those observed during solar minima—can create a “radiological phantom” that mimics industrial contamination in low-to-mid-resolution detection environments.
In the field, rapid screening for Cs137 relies on Sodium Iodide (NaI) scintillation detectors. These devices possess a “full width at half maximum” (FWHM) resolution that often exceeds 7%.
Be7 emits a gamma photon at 477.6 keV.
Concurrently, the primary emission of Cs137 (662 keV) creates a Compton Edge at exactly 477 keV.
In the absence of a clear 662 keV photopeak (due to shielding or low source activity), a detector “seeing” a surge at 477 keV identifies the signature of scattered Cesium which can be attributed to a nearby contamination
During a solar minimum (look at the current historically low solar poloidal field strength) the flux of Be7 increases significantly and attaches to biological material. A field technician encountering this “bright” 477 keV peak from contaminated shrimp would naturally conclude they are in the presence of a heavily shielded or distant C137 source.
When samples are brought to a laboratory for confirmation, beta counting is employed to determine the specific activity. This is where the secondary misidentification occurs.
There is a spectral proximity
Whereas C137 has a maximum Beta signature of 512 keV. Be10 is 556 keV.
Unlike gamma spectroscopy, beta spectroscopy produces a broad, featureless “hump.” The difference between a 512 keV endpoint and a 556 keV endpoint is only 8%.
In an industrial context (like the “Peters Metals” scenario in Java) labs are only looking for Cs, Co, and Ir). If a beta-spectrometer shows a curve terminating in the 500–600 keV range, it is statistically attributed to C137
The lab “confirms” the field report, unaware that they are measuring cosmogenic background Be10 that has accumulated in the material of a the test sample
In the Indonesian detection incident, regulators attributed the beta-energy spikes exclusively to “Cs” despite the absence of the 661.7 keV endpoint
It is noteworthy that concurrent testing by Indonesian laboratories were able to find no trace of the supposed Cs contamination
This misinterpretation was likely a calculated move to localise a global event, creating a legal “villain” to explain away a broader environmental anomaly
The “Peters Metals” event was not an isolated failure but part of a worldwide phenomenon.
Similar high-energy radioactivity spikes were detected simultaneously in Australia, Europe, and Asia.
While Indonesia had a “suspect” (PT Peter Metal Technology), the other worldwide detections remained without an identified industrial source. This lack of suspects suggests the origin was not terrestrial.
By naming a culprit in only one location while leaving the others as “unresolved,” authorities successfully prevented the public from connecting the dots. Admitting that identical spikes occurred globally without a local source would prove the actual cause was intrusion of galactic cosmic rays(GCRs)
Beryllium-10 and Beryllium 7 are only produced by atmospheric spallation of GCRs
Beryllium isotopes have been deliberately excluded from the final reports because their cosmic origin makes it “unactionable.”
By ignoring the Be-10 and Be7 spikes detected in the shrimp —which were the true indicators of the global radiation surge—the powers that be maintain a manageable, albeit false, regulatory landscape.
The branding of the Indonesian event as “Cesium” provided a strategic pivot point for international trade and geopolitics
Since the US FDA issued multiple recalls of Indonesian shrimp in late 2025 after identifying Cesium-137, and attributing the blame to a polluted industrial zone near Jakarta a major shift has occurred with less cooperation with China and new movement towards the USA
On Feb. 19, 2026, the U.S. and Indonesia signed a landmark Reciprocal Trade Agreement that aims to reorder economic relations.
On April 13, 2026, they announced a Major Defence Cooperation Partnership (MDCP)
By isolating the Jakarta industrial park case and ignoring the other numerous global detections, the current CO2 alarmist scientific community along with the aviation and space industries avoid the terrifying admission that GCR spallation has reached a level that is triggering industrial alarms worldwide.
The 2025–2026 radiological crisis currently destroying the oceanic protein source is a singular, global atmospheric event involving increased GCR spallation products
The “Peters Metals” narrative was a construct—a successful attempt to rebrand a cosmic surge as a man-made accident. The spectral peaks for Be and Cs would appear to have been misinterpreted by design; naming a culprit in Java provided the necessary cover to ignore a nameless, worldwide increase in cosmic radiation and facilitate a major change in geopolitical arrangements
Respectfully submitted
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