Lithuania turns back truck from Belarus with 7 tonnes of chanterelles: caesium-137 found in the mushrooms

Lithuanian border guards did not let into the country a truck from Belarus carrying more than seven tonnes of fresh chanterelles: radioactive caesium-137 was found in the load. The incident happened late in the evening on Saturday, 31 October, at the Medininkai checkpoint (Kamenny Loh on the Belarusian side).

The refusal of entry was reported on 3 November by the State Border Guard Service under the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior. According to the Lithuanian border guards, caesium-137 was found in the mushrooms.

As the vehicle approached the checkpoint, the stationary radiation monitoring gates went off. An additional check with a dosimeter detected the radionuclide caesium-137, and a portable RIIDEye X device confirmed its presence.

According to the Lithuanian border service, caesium-137 accounted for 71%. The dose rate on the surface reached 0.06 µSv/h against a natural background of 0.02 µSv/h.

The driver was a 36-year-old citizen of Belarus.

The DAF XF 460 FT truck with Lithuanian plates was carrying 7128 kg of fresh chanterelles in an Estonian Schmitz semi-trailer. The cargo area held 2376 wooden crates of 4 kg each.

The border guards contacted Lithuania's Radiation Protection Centre and were instructed not to let the vehicle through. The truck, together with the mushrooms, was sent back to Belarus, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service said. The vehicle was not detained.