RADIATION ALARM SOUNDS AT LITHUANIAN BORDER WITH

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000247 FOR STATE ISN/WMDT AND PM/ISO/PMAT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM KCRM PTER ASEC KCOR PINR LH SUBJECT: RADIATION ALARM SOUNDS AT LITHUANIAN BORDER WITH KALININGRAD REF: A) HOYT -RYAN TELECON 5/5/09 B) RYAN - HOYT EMAIL 5/5/09 ¶1. At opening of business May 5, Post learned via media report that a radiation alarm was set off by a cargo train at the border of Lithuania and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on May 1 (see para 2). The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS) posted information identical to the media report on its website. -------------- Media Report -------------- ¶2. Begin media report text: Lithuanian border guards have denied entry to a train car hauling cargo of radioactive ore chemicals. The stopped cargo was bound for Russia from the country's Kaliningrad enclave. Border guards of Lithuania's southern Lazdijai Frontier District on Saturday ran a check on an incoming freight train, the State Border Security Service said in a statement. One of its cars was found to contain zirconium ore and sodium triphosphate, with the cargo's final destination being a ceramics factory in Volgograd of southern Russia. ¶3. Using specialized equipment, officers determined the cargo to be emitting at the top of the train car an excessive radiation field. The radiation monitoring equipment revealed a field of 100 micro-roentgen per hour, while the permitted norm is 20. ¶4. Border guards have informed the Radiation Protection Center of the radioactive cargo. The train car with the increased radiation field was denied entry in Lithuania, meaning the car had to be detached from the train and sent back to Kaliningrad first thing on Monday. End media report text. ¶5. We spoke to the Director of the Radiation Protection Center Albinas Mastauskas by phone May 5. Mastauskas said the cargo contained zirconium ore and sodium triphosphate and was not properly documented by Russian regulatory agencies. He explained that if this cargo has been properly documented, then the SBGS could have processed the shipment through to its intended destination. We are following up with local authorities to gather additional information. We don't know if the GOL notified the Department of Energy about this event as may have been required. CLOUD