DTRA Partners with Lithuanian Ministry of Defense
By DTRA Public Affairs

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) recently partnered with the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense to install the Transportable Xenon Laboratory (TXL) and a high-volume air particulate sampler to measure radionuclide backgrounds near Vilnius, Lithuania. This collaborative effort enables the Lithuanian government to detect background radiation throughout the country, and provide actionable information in the event radionuclides in the atmosphere reach levels that can potentially impact the health and safety of the population.

Deployment of the TXL and particulate sampler systems enhances Lithuanian national monitoring and early warning capabilities. These systems sample the air to measure amounts of radioactivity in the form of aerosol particulates and noble gases. The measurements will provide valuable scientific data to improve source-to-detection modeling for atmospheric transport of radionuclides.

The precision systems, which can detect trace amounts of radioactivity released from sources thousands of kilometers away, have performed background measurement campaigns in Gibraltar, Japan, and Burkina Faso. This measurement program will collect data for at least one year.

This project exercises close cooperation with the Radiation Protection Center, Lithuania’s regulatory authority responsible for radiological monitoring and early warning of nuclear and radiological emergencies.
This effort is example of the strong alliance between the United States and Lithuania and opens new opportunities for additional cooperation in this field.