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Aug 04, 2014 (newstodate): Lithuania's Siauliai Airport may have a serious environmental problem: high levels of radioactive contamination.
The airport was one of the largest military airports in the former Soviet Union capable of handling the largest a-weapons carrying bomber aircraft and still has the longest runway at 3,500m in the Baltic region.
The Soviet air force left the base in 1993, and the airport has since been owned by the Lithuanian ministry of defense and the Siauliai Municipality.
It has been established that levels of radioactivity are 50 times higher than the natural background radiation, but despite some initial efforts to remove the contaminated soil no eventual action has been taken by its owners, and an earlier decision to open a tender for contracting a company to clean the areas has not been pursued, according to Lithuanian media reports.
The airport is not part of the consolidated company managing the country's three international airport from July 1, 2014, and is mainly used by cargo companies, but is also an important NATO base housing fighter contingents from several NATO partner countries providing the Baltic region with air space protection against Russian interference.
The airport was one of the largest military airports in the former Soviet Union capable of handling the largest a-weapons carrying bomber aircraft and still has the longest runway at 3,500m in the Baltic region.
The Soviet air force left the base in 1993, and the airport has since been owned by the Lithuanian ministry of defense and the Siauliai Municipality.
It has been established that levels of radioactivity are 50 times higher than the natural background radiation, but despite some initial efforts to remove the contaminated soil no eventual action has been taken by its owners, and an earlier decision to open a tender for contracting a company to clean the areas has not been pursued, according to Lithuanian media reports.
The airport is not part of the consolidated company managing the country's three international airport from July 1, 2014, and is mainly used by cargo companies, but is also an important NATO base housing fighter contingents from several NATO partner countries providing the Baltic region with air space protection against Russian interference.