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{{Infobox Military Test Site
|name=Semipalatinsk Test Site
|image=
|caption=[[Joe 1|Operation First Lightning]], the first Soviet [[atomic test]]
|map=[[File:Wfm sts overview.png|300px]]
|map_caption=The 18,000 km<sup>2</sup> expanse of the Semipalatinsk Test Site (indicated in red), attached to [[Kurchatov, Kazakhstan|Kurchatov]] (along the [[Irtysh river]]), and near [[Semey]], as well as [[Karagandy]], and [[Astana]]. The site comprised an area [[the size of Wales]]
|type=[[Nuclear testing|Nuclear test]] site
|coordinates={{coord|50|07|N|78|43|E|}}
|site_area=~{{convert|6,950|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}
|nearest_town=[[Kurchatov, Kazakhstan|Kurchatov]]
|operator=[[Soviet Union]]
|country=[[Kazakhstan]]
|status=Inactive
|dates=1949 – 1991
|nuclear_tests=456 (340 underground and 116 aboveground)<ref name="Kassenova" />
|subcritical_tests=not known}}

The '''Semipalatinsk Test Site''' (STS or Semipalatinsk-21), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[nuclear weapons]]. It is located on the [[steppe]] in northeast [[Kazakhstan]] (then the [[Kazakh SSR]]), south of the valley of the [[Irtysh River]]. The scientific buildings for the test site were located around 150 km west of the town of [[Semey|Semipalatinsk]] (later renamed Semey), near the border of [[East Kazakhstan Province]] and [[Pavlodar Province]] with most of the nuclear tests taking place at various sites further to the west and south, some as far as into [[Karagandy Province]].

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.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Slow Death In Kazakhstan's Land Of Nuclear Tests|url = http://www.rferl.org/content/soviet_nuclear_testing_semipalatinsk_20th_anniversary/24311518.html|newspaper = RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|date = 2011-08-29|access-date = 2015-08-31|language = English}}</ref> The site has been described as ''"The world's worst radiation hotspot"''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The world's worst radiation hotspot |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-worlds-worst-radiation-hotspot-1784502.html|website=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=27 January 2017|date=9 September 2009}}</ref>

From 1996 to 2012, a secret joint operation of Kazakh, Russian, and American nuclear scientists and engineers secured the waste plutonium in the tunnels of the mountains.<ref name="belfer">[http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/23327/plutonium_mountain.html 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</ref>

==History==
[[File:Wfm sts closeup.png|thumb|The various facilities grouped inside the Semipalatinsk Test Site]]


The site was selected in 1947 by [[Lavrentiy Beria]], political head of the [[Soviet atomic bomb project]] (Beria falsely claimed the vast 18,000 km² steppe was "uninhabited").<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kazakhstan|first=Paul|last=Brummell|publisher=Bradt|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84162-234-7|page=241}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The world's worst radiation hotspot|first=Jerome|last=Taylor|date=10 September 2009|work=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=21 July 2011|location=London|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-worlds-worst-radiation-hotspot-1784502.html}}</ref> [[Gulag]] labour was employed to build the primitive test facilities, including the laboratory complex in the northeast corner on the southern bank of the Irtysh River. The first Soviet bomb test, [[Operation First Lightning]] (nicknamed ''Joe One'' by the Americans) was conducted in 1949 from a tower at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, scattering [[Nuclear fallout|fallout]] on nearby villages (which Beria had neglected to evacuate).{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} The same area ("the experimental field", a region forty miles west of Kurchatov city) was used for more than 100 subsequent above-ground weapons tests.

Later tests were moved to the Chagan River complex and nearby Balapan in the east of the STS (including the site of the [[Chagan (nuclear test)|Chagan test]], which formed [[Chagan Lake (Kazakhstan)|Chagan Lake]]). Once atmospheric tests were banned, testing was transferred to underground locations at Chagan, Murzhik (in the west), and at the [[Degelen Mountain]] complex in the south, which is riddled with boreholes and drifts for both subcritical and supercritical tests. After the closure of the Semipalatinsk labour camp, construction duties were performed by the 217th Separate Engineering and Mining Battalion (who later built the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]). Between 1949 and the cessation of atomic testing in 1989, 456 explosions were conducted at the STS, including 340 underground (borehole and tunnel) shots and 116 atmospheric (either air-drop or tower shots). The lab complex, still the administrative and scientific centre of the STS, was renamed [[Kurchatov, Kazakhstan|Kurchatov]] City after [[Igor Kurchatov]], leader of the initial Soviet nuclear programme. The location of Kurchatov city has been typically shown on various
maps as "Konechnaya" (the name of the train station; now Degelen) or "Moldary" (the name of the village that was later incorporated into the city).

The Semipalatinsk Complex was of acute interest to foreign governments during its operation, particularly during the phase when explosions were carried out above ground at the experimental field. Several [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] overflights examined preparations and weapons effects, before being replaced with satellite reconnaissance. The US [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] is said to have been convinced that the Soviets had constructed an enormous [[beam weapon]] station at a small research station located on the testing site.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/mp_sovi_pop.html "Satellite photo of suspected Soviet beam weapon installation"], ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'' (via PBS)</ref> This smaller research station, known to the Department of Defense as PNUTS (Possible Nuclear Underground Test Site) and the CIA as URDF-3 (Unidentified Research and Development Facility-3) was of great interest to American observers. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was discovered that the mysterious URDF-3 was tasked with researching a [[nuclear thermal rocket]] similar to the US's [[NERVA]].<ref>Richelson, Jefferey, ''The Wizards of Langley'' Westview Press, New York, NY 2002</ref>

The site was officially closed by the [[President of Kazakhstan]] [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] on 29 August 1991.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Norris|first=Robert S.|jstor=23624674|title=The Soviet Nuclear Archipelago|date=January–February 1992|journal=Arms Control Today|publisher=Arms Control Association|volume=22|issue=1|page=27|subscription=yes}}</ref>

===Legacy===

The Soviet Union conducted its last tests in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duff-Brown|first=Beth|title=The lasting toll of Semipalatinsk's nuclear testing|url=http://thebulletin.org/lasting-toll-semipalatinsks-nuclear-testing|publisher=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|accessdate=March 6, 2016}}</ref> After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the site was neglected. Unguarded fissile material was left behind in mountain tunnels and bore holes, virtually unguarded and vulnerable to scavengers, rogue states, or potential terrorists. The story of the secret cleanup of Semipalatinsk has recently been made public, and is a testament to cooperation among countries: Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States worked together for 15 years to secure the former test site, which is bigger than the American state of New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duff-Brown|first=Beth|title=Into Thin Air: The Story of Plutonium Mountain|url=http://thebulletin.org/thin-air-story-plutonium-mountain|publisher=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|accessdate=August 20, 2013}}</ref>

After some of the tests, radioactive material remained on the now abandoned area, including significant amounts of plutonium. The risk that material might fall into the hands of scavengers or terrorists was considered one of the largest nuclear security threats since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The operation to address the problem involved, in part, pouring special concrete into test holes, to bind the waste plutonium. In other cases, horizontal mine test holes were sealed and the entrances covered over. Finally in October 2012, Kazakh, Russian, and American nuclear scientists and engineers celebrated the completion of a secret 17-year, $150 million operation to secure the plutonium in the tunnels of the mountains.<ref name="belfer" />

==Anti-nuclear movement==
The [[anti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan]], "Nevada Semipalatinsk", was formed in 1989 and was one of the first major [[anti-nuclear movement]]s in the former [[Soviet Union]]. It was led by author [[Olzhas Suleimenov]] and attracted thousands of people to its protests and campaigns which eventually led to the closure of the [[nuclear test site]] at [[Semipalatinsk]] in 1991.<ref name="bbc1999">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/288008.stm World: Asia-Pacific: Kazakh anti-nuclear movement celebrates tenth anniversary] ''BBC News'', February 28, 1999.</ref><ref name="chance">Matthew Chance. [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/30/btsc.chance.nukes/index.html Inside the nuclear underworld: Deformity and fear] ''CNN.com'', August 31, 2007.</ref><ref name="krech">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nUMKF4IKQkAC&dq=clamshell+alliance+encyclopedia&q=anti-nuclear#v=snippet&q=nuclear&f=false |title=Encyclopedia of World Environmental History: A-E |author=Krech, Shepard |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |pages=70–71}}</ref>

According to [[UNESCO]], Nevada-Semipalatinsk played a positive role in promoting public understanding of "the necessity to fight against nuclear threats".<ref name="un">[http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16406&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Kazakhstan - Audiovisual documents of the International antinuclear movement “Nevada-Semipalatinsk”]</ref> The movement gained global support and became "a real historical factor in finding solutions to global ecological problems".<ref name="un" />

==Health impacts==
Studies conducted at Cambridge took blood samples from forty different families who lived in a district of [[Kazakhstan]] that were directly exposed at high levels to fallout from the Russian bomb tests <ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bauer|first=Susanne|last2=Gusev|first2=Boris I.|last3=Pivina|first3=Ludmila M.|last4=Apsalikov|first4=Kazbek N.|last5=Grosche|first5=Bernd|date=2005-01-01|title=Radiation Exposure Due to Local Fallout from Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing in Kazakhstan: Solid Cancer Mortality in the Semipalatinsk Historical Cohort, 1960-1999|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3581526|journal=Radiation Research|volume=164|issue=4|pages=409–419}}</ref>. These studies concluded that individuals who had been exposed to the fallout between 1949 and 1956 had an approximate 80% increase in the [[mini-satellite regions]] of their [[DNA]]. The children of these individuals had 50% more mutations in their mini-satellite regions compared to their control counterparts <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3076055.pdf|title=DNA Mutations Linked to Soviet Bomb Tests|last=Stone|first=Richard|date=|website=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3076055.pdf|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref>. Some health scientists are still not sure what the [[Germline mutation|germline mutations]] mean for the individuals’ health, but there is increasing evidence these mutations may increase genetic predisposition to certain diseases such as [[Cardiovascular disease|cardiovascular diseases]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grosche|first=Bernd|last2=Lackland|first2=Daniel T.|last3=Land|first3=Charles E.|last4=Simon|first4=Steven L.|last5=Apsalikov|first5=Kazbek N.|last6=Pivina|first6=Ludmilla M.|last7=Bauer|first7=Susanne|last8=Gusev|first8=Boris I.|date=2011-01-01|title=Mortality from Cardiovascular Diseases in the Semipalatinsk Historical Cohort, 1960-1999, and its Relationship to Radiation Exposure|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41318233|journal=Radiation Research|volume=176|issue=5|pages=660–669}}</ref>. There has also been evidence that increased levels of DNA mutation rates are correlated with prolonger [[radiation exposure]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dubrova|first=Yuri E.|last2=Bersimbaev|first2=Rakhmet I.|last3=Djansugurova|first3=Leila B.|last4=Tankimanova|first4=Maira K.|last5=Mamyrbaeva|first5=Zaure Zh.|last6=Mustonen|first6=Riitta|last7=Lindholm|first7=Carita|last8=Hultén|first8=Maj|last9=Salomaa|first9=Sisko|date=2002-01-01|title=Nuclear Weapons Tests and Human Germline Mutation Rate|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3076101|journal=Science|volume=295|issue=5557|pages=1037–1037}}</ref>. A longitudinal study conducted over a 40 year span found a correlation between radiation fallout exposure and prevalence of solid tumors. The most frequent sites for solid tumors were the esophagus, stomach, lungs, breasts, and liver. These sites were found to have statistically significant increases in prevalence when compared to a control group. However some bodily sites had no significant difference in number: [[Cervix|cervix uteri]], [[kidney]], [[rectum]], and [[pancreas]]<ref name=":0" />. The study’s data suggests that there is a link between exposure length, and amount, to overall and cancer mortality. Nonetheless the relationship between the level of radiation exposure and effect is still up for discussion.

The full impact of radiation exposure was hidden for many years by Soviet authorities. The general consensus of health studies conducted at the site since it was closed is that radioactive fallout from nuclear testing had a direct impact on the health of about 200,000 local residents. Specifically, scientists have linked higher rates of different types of cancer to post-irradiation effects. Likewise, several studies have explored the correlation between radiation exposure and thyroid abnormalities.<ref name="Kassenova">{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-lasting-toll-of-semipalatinsks-nuclear-testing |title=The lasting toll of Semipalatinsk's nuclear testing |author=Togzhan Kassenova |date=28 September 2009 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists }}</ref>
A [[BBC]] program claimed in 2010 that in the worst affected locations one in 20 children born were with genetic defects. British film-maker [[Antony Butts]] documented some of the genetic health impacts in his 2010 film ''After the Apocalypse''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Life after nuclear testing|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2010/11/101119_kazakhstan_nuclear_testing.shtml|website=BBC World Service|accessdate=19 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Butts|first1=Antony|title=After the Apocalypse|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825646/|date=13 May 2011}}</ref>

==Site of the signing of the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaty==
Semipalatinsk was the site that [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] chose for the signing of the [[Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone]] on 8 September 2006, also commemorating the 15th anniversary of the test site's closing.

==Heritage==
The zone has been proposed as a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>El País Semanal nº1818, 31 julio 2011 "Tras el sueño atómico de la URSS", pp. 62-71 (Spanish)</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan]]
*[[List of nuclear reactors]]
*[[List of nuclear tests]]
* [[List of nuclear weapons tests of the Soviet Union]]
*[[Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents]]
*[[Nevada Test Site]]
*[[Novaya Zemlya#Nuclear testing|Novaya Zemlya Test Site]]
*[[Nuclear energy in Kazakhstan]]
*[[Operation Plumbbob]]
*[[Struan Stevenson]]
*[[Totskoye nuclear exercise]]
*[[Ulba Metallurgical Plant]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.semipalatinsk21.com Semipalatinsk-21 Official Government Website]
*[http://www.nnc.kz/en.html Semipalatinsk test site's website]
*[http://yuriev.tv/portfolio/photography/2006/kazakhstan_nuclear_semipalatinsk/album/index.htm Semipalatinsk test site's panoramic photos]
*[http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/kazakst/weafacil/semipala.htm The Nuclear Threat Initiative's page on the STS]
*[http://www.environmental-expert.com/magazine/springer/00411/art12.pdf Environmental study of the site's atomic legacy] ([[PDF]] file)
*[http://www.iris.edu/data/reports/borDSA.pdf detailed seismic data for world nuclear tests] - shows all explosions at STS from 1966 ([[PDF]] file)
*[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Sovwpnprog.html nuclearweaponarchive.org/ on the Soviet nuclear program]
*[http://www.kiae.ru/radleg/ch9e.htm Details of nuclear explosions at STS, including detailed map of fallout trails]
*[http://www.akimvko.gov.kz/rule1_4.htm City of Kurchatov] (from the site of the [[East Kazakhstan Province|East Kazakhstan]] provincial government) (in Kazakh)
*[http://yuriev.tv/semipalatinsk-21/ Video and Picture Galleries of Semipalatinsk Test Site.]
*[http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2009/08/20098273257926312.html Documentary about the tests and their effects on the populace]

{{coord|50|07|N|78|43|E|display=title}}

{{Military testing centers in Kazakhstan}}

[[Category:Russian nuclear test sites]]
[[Category:Nuclear test sites in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons program of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Nuclear technology in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Nuclear test sites]]
[[Category:Environmental disasters in Asia]]

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