Radionuclide Contamination at Kazakhstan's Semipalatinsk Test Site: Implications on Human and Ecological Health |
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| Authors: | Tina M. Carlsen Leif E. Peterson Brant A. Ulsh Cynthia A. Werner Kathleen L. Purvis Anna C. Sharber |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Livermore, CA, USA 94550;2. Tel(voice): 925-422-7103, Tel(fax): 925-422-2095;3. carlsen1@llnl.gov;4. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA 77030;5. McMaster University, Department of Medical Physics, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S4K1;6. Texas A &7. M University, 224 Anthropology Building, College Station, TX, USA 77843-4352;8. W. M. Keck Science Center, 925 N. Mills Ave., Claremont, CA, USA 91711;9. National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, USA 20418 |
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| Abstract: | A delegation of five scientists participated in a U.S. National Research Council program to review the status of research on the health and environmental impacts of nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) in the eastern region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From 11 August through 25 August 2000, we visited several research institutes in Kazakhstan and consulted with numerous Kazakh researchers from academic disciplines ranging from radioecology to public health and medicine. We focused on reviewing data on the health and environmental impacts resulting from the testing. The health effects caused by the testing at STS have received a fair amount of study, and research using modern techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and nuclear magnetic resonance will likely increase the reliability of dose reconstruction. However, the extent to which the STS is contaminated has not been adequately characterized, and the potential exposure to nomadic peoples and ecological receptors at the uncontrolled test site is not known. Additional research in these areas, and development of administrative controls for the site, appears warranted. |
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| Keywords: | Kazakhstan Semipalatinsk Test Site radionuclides site characterization health effects ecological impacts. |
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