A Summary of the Affects of Nuclear Testing on the People and Environment of Kazakhstan:
The Soviet Union performed about 500 nuclear bomb tests on a site called Semipalatink-21, that was 160 kilometres away from the Kazakh city of Semipalatinsk which is now Semey. The testing began in1949 and continued for forty more years, ending in 1989. The site was officially closed August 29, 1991. The Soviets built structures and placed animals in the sites to test the strength and affect of the bombs. Two hundred thousand villagers were also subject to the cruelty of the Soviets. The people of Semipalatink were forced to stand outside their homes each time a bomb was tested in order to study the effects of radiation on humans.
The nuclear testing may have ended but it has had long lasting results on the environment and people of Kazakhstan. Many people have developed or inherited cancer caused by radiation and an increased number of children are being born with birth defects. The man in the picture to the right has grown a facial tumor and now has difficulties breathing, seeing, and eating, do to his condition caused by exposure to radioactive material.
The testing site has been closed for some time, but the high levels of radiaion remain present. Nothing can live within the boundries of the acctual site because the levels of radiation are so significant . No living thing can stay for more than a few hours or even minutes depending on how close you are to the center of the site. One villager describes how it is to live there: "The lake is void of any living creature. Fish can't live there. When the wind blows it makes people sick."
The testing site has been closed for some time, but the high levels of radiaion remain present. Nothing can live within the boundries of the acctual site because the levels of radiation are so significant . No living thing can stay for more than a few hours or even minutes depending on how close you are to the center of the site. One villager describes how it is to live there: "The lake is void of any living creature. Fish can't live there. When the wind blows it makes people sick."