Abstract
The nuclear bomb testing conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan is of great importance for today’s radiation protection research, particularly in the area of low dose exposures. This type of radiation is of particular interest due to the lack of research in this field and how it impacts population health. In order to understand the possible health effects of nuclear bomb testing, it is important to determine what studies have been conducted on the effects of low dose exposure and dosimetry, and evaluate new epidemiologic data and biological material collected from populations living in proximity to the test site. With time, new epidemiological data has been made available, and it is possible that these data may be linked to biological samples. Next to linking existing and newly available data to examine health effects, the existing dosimetry system needs to be expanded and further developed to include residential areas, which have not yet been taken into account. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of previous studies evaluating the health effects of nuclear testing, including some information on dosimetry efforts, and pointing out directions for future epidemiologic studies.
Highlights
The nuclear bomb testing conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan is of great importance for today’s radiation protection research, in the area of low dose exposures
Over 200 underground nuclear tests were performed in the Degelen Mountains. 123 underground nuclear tests were conducted in the Balapan area, one of which led to the formation of Lake Chagan, which is sometimes called ‘Atomic Lake’ due to the current radioactive environment.[2]
This review demonstrates that different datasets are available for investigating health effects of radiation among the population living in proximity to the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site
Summary
The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (STS) is located in the present East-Kazakhstan Oblast (or administrative division) of Kazakhstan, a country that was previously a part of the Soviet Union. The test site is named after the city of Semipalatinsk (in Kazakh: Semey) and is located approximately 150 km west of the city. The STS was a major site for nuclear weapons testing by the former Soviet Union, and it was where the former Soviet Union conducted their first nuclear test on August 29, 1949. Afterwards, 456 nuclear explosions were carried out between 1949 and 1989, including 111 atmospheric events (86 air events and 25 surface events) between 1949 and 1962.1,2 After the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, the tests at STS were restricted to underground shafts and tunnels so that little or no offsite environmental contamination was caused; except for four events that occured between 1965 and 1968, within the framework of peaceful uses of nuclear energy program, which was designed for earth-.
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