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Fallout From Soviet Atomic Bombs Persists in Kazakstan

Fallout From Soviet Atomic Bombs Persists in KazakstanBy
Environment News Service Elmira GabidullinaALMATY, Kazakstan, September 18, 2008 (ENS) – “……………………..

The persistence of high background radiation means the legacy of Semipalatinsk lives on. Academic researchers and pressure groups say the incidence of cancer, congenital defects, retarded development and psychiatric disorders in the surrounding area is much higher than in other parts of Kazakstan.

According to the cancer center for East Kazakstan Region, the disease occurs 10 to 15 percent more frequently than the national average, with a high proportion of cases falling within the 50-60 year-old age bracket – people who would have been around when nuclear testing was taking place………………………….. Some 1.7 million people are believed to have health problems caused by exposure to radiation………………..experts warn that low doses and constant exposure can show up as genetic malformations……………………………Kazakstan has a law dating from 1992 which sets out the benefits available to people who suffered as a result of nuclear testing. But strangely, it does not appear to cover soldiers who served in and around the test site.

Fallout From Soviet Atomic Bombs Persists in Kazakstan

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radiation

September 20, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment