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Lake Karachay, located in the southern Ural Mountains in eastern Russia, was a dumping ground for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapon facilities. It was also affected by a string of accidents and disasters causing the surrounding areas to be highly contaminated with radioactive waste. Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute has described it as the "most polluted spot on Earth".〔Lenssen, "Nuclear Waste: The Problem that Won't Go Away", Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C., 1991: 15.〕 == History == Built in the late 1940s Mayak was one of Russia's most prominent nuclear weapons factories. Mayak was kept secret by the government until 1990. When Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a 1992 decree opening the area, Western scientists were able to gain access. In 1994, a report revealed that 5 million cubic meters of polluted water had migrated from Lake Karachay, and was spreading to the south and north at 80 meters per year, "threatening to enter water intakes and rivers".〔(Laverov, Omelianeako and Velichkin 1994, 3)〕 The authors acknowledged that "theoretical hazards developed into actual events". In November 1994, officials from the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy stated that Soviet officials initiated a process following the 1957 Kyshtym disaster resulting in the transfer of 3 billion curies of high level nuclear waste into deep wells at three other sites.〔"Critical Masses: Citizens, Nuclear Weapons Production, and Environmental Destruction in the United States and Russia", by Russell J. Dalton, 1999, p.79〕 The Techa river, which provides water to nearby areas, was contaminated, and about 65% of local residents fell ill with radiation sickness. Doctors called it the "special disease" because they were not allowed to note radiation in their diagnoses as long as the facility was secret. In the village of Metlino, it was found that 65% of residents were suffering from chronic radiation sickness. Workers at the plutonium plant were also affected. == Causes == The pollution of Lake Karachay is connected to the disposal of nuclear materials from Mayak. Among workers, cancer mortality remains an issue.〔(Cancer mortality risk among workers at the Mayak nuclear complex. ), June 2003〕 By the time Mayak's existence was officially recognized, there had been a 21% rise in cancer cases, a 25% rise in birth defects, and a 41% rise in leukemia in the surrounding region of Chelyabinsk.〔(Is this the most polluted place on Earth? The Russian lake where an hour on the beach would kill you ) 9 October 2012〕 By one estimate, the river contains 120 million curies of radioactive waste.〔"Russia", p. 121, publisher = Lonely Planet〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pollution of Lake Karachay」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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