Semipalatinsk Test Site
The Semipalatinsk Test Site (Russian: Семипалатинск-21; 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 (in the former Kazakh SSR), south of the valley of the Irtysh River. The scientific buildings for the test site were located around 150 km (93 mi) west of the town of Semipalatinsk, later renamed Semey, near the border of East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar Region. Most of the nuclear tests taking place at various sites further to the west and the south, some as far as into Karagandy Region.
| Semipalatinsk-21 | |
|---|---|
| Near Kurchatov in Kazakhstan | |
The 18,000 km2 expanse of the Semipalatinsk Test Site (indicated in red), attached to Kurchatov (along the Irtysh river), and near Semey, as well as Karagandy, and Astana. The site comprised an area the size of Wales | |
| Coordinates | 50°07′N 78°43′E |
| Type | Nuclear test site |
| Area | 18,000 km2 (6,950 sq mi) |
| Site information | |
| Operator | Soviet Union (1949–89) |
| Status | Inactive |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1949 – 1991 |
| Test information | |
| Subcritical tests | not known |
| Nuclear tests | 456 (340 underground and 116 aboveground) |
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. According to estimates from Kazakh experts, 1.5 million people were exposed to fallout over the years.
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.
Since its closure on 29 August 1991, the Semipalatinsk Test Site has become the best-researched nuclear testing site in the world, and the only one in the world open to the public year-round.