Chelyabinsk-40: Russian secret city is the most radioactive place on the planet

Between the Ural Mountains and a few kilometers from the Kazakhstan border is the small Russian town of Ozyorsk, which is known to be the most radioactive place on the planet. Of course, this title was not earned overnight and the history of the city allows us to better understand what happened so that this place accumulated enough radioactivity rates to kill a person in a few hours.

Map of Ozyorsk region (ancient secret city of Chelyabinsk-40). Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

How it all began

Ozyorsk only appeared on the map and became known to people after 1992, when President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree that allowed scientists and researchers to explore the area.

Prior to that, the secret city was named Chelyabinsk-40 and Chelyabinsk-65, with Chelyabinsk being a reference to the nearest administrative center and the numbers representing the town's zip code - this was a common way of naming closed cities. .

Mayak facilities. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

Already the mystery that hung over Chelyabinsk-40 came from the activities that the Soviet government carried out there. In the 1940s, the city was chosen to host Mayak, a nuclear material production center that was kept secret until 1990.

By the time Mayak's existence was made official, records already showed a 21 percent increase in cancer incidence, a 25 percent increase in birth problems, and a 41 percent increase in leukemia cases across the Chelyabinsk region. It is estimated that 65% of the population was affected by radiation, and doctors had to certify that their patients suffered from a "special disease" because they were prohibited from mentioning radioactivity in their diagnoses.

Lack of planning

Mayak's main objective was to produce weapons from Uranium-238 found in the mountains of the region. In 1948, the first reactor started working, converting uranium into plutonium to send the material to the bomb builders.

However, all construction efforts aimed at optimizing nuclear material production and failed to devise an appropriate way to dispose of waste. Thus, the Techa River - which supplied about 40 cities and towns in the region - was one of the nuclear waste destinations.

Techa river. Image Source: Playback / Media Zavod

After three years infecting the river, the Soviet government sent researchers to make sure the situation was under control. Scientists found that in just one hour, the river emitted 25 percent of the radioactivity released in the region for an entire year. This finding caused thousands of families to be relocated.

But the problem persisted and the government needed to find a new destination for the waste from its nuclear production. It was when, in 1951, Lake Karachay was chosen especially because it had no contact with any other river or spring, which made those responsible imagine that the material deposited there would not spread to other places. Subsequent tests showed that water from Karachay Lake could come into contact with the Asanov swamp, which is also in the region.

Nuclear accidents

In addition to polluting rivers and lakes, Mayak suffered some major nuclear accidents that contributed to the increased risks of radioactivity in the region. In 1957, the explosion of a tank resulted in the dispersal of 50 to 100 tons of high-level radioactive matter.

Karachay lake. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimapia

Still, in 1968, Lake Karachay itself suffered a drought and became dry. The wind eventually dispersed the radioactive dust that was deposited at the bottom of the lake over an area of ​​2, 300 square kilometers, reaching about 500, 000 people. In the 1990s, scientists discovered that the radiation rate emitted by the lake (600 Röntgen) was enough to kill a person in an hour.

In 2003, Mayak's facilities were revoked. Today, the Techa River contains small amounts of cesium and Lake Karachay has had part of its concrete bed covered, but it is still not possible to control the contamination of the local population and reverse the problems that were caused for so many years.