Kyshtym disaster
The Kyshtym disaster was a radiation contamination disaster that occurred on 29 September 1957 in Mayak, a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Russia (then a part of the Soviet Union). It measured as a Level 6 disaster on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the Chernobyl disaster is the only accident listed as more serious than this one). The event occurred in the town of Ozyorsk, a closed city in the USSR built around Mayak. Since Ozyorsk/Mayak (also known as Chelyabinsk-40 and Chelyabinsk-65) were not marked on maps, the disaster was named for Kyshtym, the nearest known town.
Background
After the Second World War the Soviet Union lagged behind the United States in development of nuclear weapons, so it started a rapid research and development program to produce a sufficient amount of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. The Mayak plant was built in a great hurry between 1946 and 1950. Gaps in knowledge of Soviet physicists about nuclear physics at the time made it difficult to judge the safety of many decisions. Also, environmental concerns were not taken seriously during the early development stage. Initially Mayak was dumping high-level radioactive waste into a nearby river, which was taking waste to the river Ob, flowing farther down to the Arctic Ocean. Later on, Lake Karachay was used for open-air storage.[1]
A storage facility for liquid nuclear waste was added around 1953. It consisted of steel tanks mounted in a concrete base, 8.2 meters underground. Because of the high level of radioactivity, the waste was heating itself (though a chain reaction was not possible). For that reason, a cooler was built around each bank containing 20 tanks. Facilities for monitoring operation of the coolers and the content of the tanks were not adequate.[2]
Explosion
In September 1957 the cooling system in one of the banks containing about 70-80 tons of radioactive waste failed, and the temperature in it started to rise, resulting in a non-nuclear explosion of the dried waste having a force estimated at about 70-100 tons of TNT, which threw the concrete lid, weighing 160 tons, into the air.[2] There were no immediate casualties as a result of the explosion, which released some 740 PBq (20 MCi) of radioactivity.[1][3].
In the next 10 to 11 hours the radioactive cloud moved towards the northeast, reaching 300-350 kilometers from the accident. The fallout of the cloud resulted in a long-term contamination of an area of more than 800 square kilometers, primarily with caesium-137 and strontium-90.[1] This area is usually referred to as the East-Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT).
Aftermath
Because of the secrecy surrounding Mayak, the population of affected areas were not initially informed of the accident. A week later (on 6 October) an operation for evacuating 10,000 people from the affected area started, still without giving an explanation of the reasons for evacuation. People "grew hysterical with fear with the incidence of unknown 'mysterious' diseases breaking out. Victims were seen with skin 'sloughing off' their faces, hands and other exposed parts of their bodies."[4] It was Zhores Medvedev who revealed the nature and extent of the disaster to the world.
Even though the Soviet government suppressed information about the figures, it is estimated that the direct exposure to radiation caused at least 200 cases of death from cancer.[5]
To reduce the spread of radioactive contamination after the accident, contaminated soil was excavated and stockpiled in fenced enclosures that were called "graveyards of the earth".[6]
The Soviet government in 1968 disguised the EURT area by creating the East-Ural Nature Reserve, which prohibited any unauthorised access to the affected area.
Rumours of a nuclear mishap somewhere in the vicinity of Chelyabinsk had long been circulating in the West. That there had been a serious nuclear accident west of the Urals was eventually inferred from research on the effects of radioactivity on plants, animals, and ecosystems, published by Professor Leo Tumerman, former head of the Biophysics Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow, and associates.
According to Gyorgy,[7] who invoked the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the relevant Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files, the CIA knew of the 1957 Mayak accident all along, but kept it secret to prevent adverse consequences for the fledgling American nuclear industry. Only in 1990 did the Soviet government declassify documents pertaining to the disaster.[8]
Current situation
The level of radiation in Ozyorsk itself is claimed to be safe for humans, but the area of EURT is still heavily contaminated with radioactivity.[5]
Kyshtym disaster in popular culture
In the Marvel Universe, the uninhabited, heavily irradiated "Forbidden Zone" in the "Khystym" region has served as the hideout of many Soviet and Russian supervillains. The first mission of the Soviet Super-Soldiers, a team of Soviet mutant superheroes, was to "Khystym;" later on their own base of operations was in the area.
See also
Notes
See also a comprehensive list of official documents pertaining to the disaster. Template:Ru icon
55°43′N 60°49′E / 55.717°N 60.817°E
- ^ a b c "Chelyabinsk-65".
- ^ a b "Conclusions of government commission" (in Russian).
- ^ See also List of military nuclear accidents
- ^ Pollock, Richard (1978). "Soviets Experience Nuclear Accident". Critical Mass Journal.
- ^ a b Template:Cite article
- ^ John R. Trabalka (1979), "Russian Experience," pages 3-8 in Environmental Decontamination: Proceedings of the Workshop, December 4-5, 1979, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, CONF-791234
- ^ Gyorgy, A. (1979). No Nukes: Everyone's Guide to Nuclear Power.
- ^ "The decision of Nikipelov Commission" (in Russian).