Semipalatinsk Test Site

Semipalatinsk-21
Near Kurchatov in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
The 18,000 km2 expanse of the Semipalatinsk Test Site (indicated in red), attached to Kurchatov (along the Irtysh river), and near Semey, as well as Karagandy, and Astana. The site comprised an area the size of Wales
Coordinates50°07′N 78°43′E / 50.117°N 78.717°E / 50.117; 78.717
TypeNuclear test site
Area18,000 km2 (6,950 sq mi)
Site information
OperatorSoviet Union Soviet Union (1949–89)
StatusInactive
Site history
In use1949 – 1991
Test information
Subcritical testsnot known
Nuclear tests456 (340 underground and 116 aboveground)[1]

The Semipalatinsk Test Site or Semipalatinsk-21 (Russian: Семипалатинск-21; Kazakh: Семей-21, romanized: Semei-21), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located in Zhanasemey District, Abai Region, Kazakhstan, south of the valley of the Irtysh River. The test site was part of the former Kazakh SSR. The scientific buildings for the test site were located around 150 km (93 mi) west of the town of Semipalatinsk, later renamed Semey, near the border of East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar Region. Most of the nuclear tests taking place at various sites further to the west and the south, some as far as into Karagandy Region.

The Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk from 1949 until 1989 with little regard for their effect on the local people or environment. The full impact of radiation exposure was hidden for many years by Soviet authorities and has only come to light since the test site closed in 1991.[2][3] According to estimates from Kazakh experts, 1.5 million people were exposed to fallout over the years.[4]

From 1996 to 2012, a secret joint operation of Kazakh, Russian, and American nuclear scientists and engineers secured some waste plutonium in the tunnels of the mountains.[5]

The Semipalatinsk Test Site saw the detonation of the first Soviet atom bomb, and the first air-tested hydrogen bomb. Over the course of 40 years, a quarter of all nuclear tests in history took place here. Since its closure on 29 August 1991, the Semipalatinsk Test Site has become the best-researched nuclear testing site in the world, and the only one in the world open to the public year-round.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kassenova was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Slow Death In Kazakhstan's Land Of Nuclear Tests". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  3. ^ "Russia Covered Up a Nuclear Fallout Worse Than Chernobyl, Confidential Report Reveals" 27 March 2017
  4. ^ Yan, Wudan (2019-04-03). "The nuclear sins of the Soviet Union live on in Kazakhstan". Nature. 568 (7750): 22–24. Bibcode:2019Natur.568...22Y. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01034-8. PMID 30944496.
  5. ^ Plutonium Mountain: Inside the 17-Year Mission to Secure a Legacy of Soviet Nuclear Testing, Eben Harrell & David E. Hoffman, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, 15 August 2013, accessed 21 August 2013
  6. ^ "Semipalatinsk Test Site: How to Visit, History and Future". Caravanistan. Retrieved 2018-02-01.