Mayak

Mayak is the name of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant between the towns Kasli and Kyshtym (also transliterated as Kishtym or Kishtim) 150 km north-west of the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia.

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The plant is in the administrative territorial unit that was first called Chelyabinsk-40, later Chelyabinsk-65, and since 1994 Ozersk, which in 2002 had a population of 90,000.

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In 1957 there was a nuclear accident at Mayak, caused by the explosion of a radioactive waste tank. More than 470,000 people were exposed to radiation. 1 It was the Soviet Union's worst nuclear accident other than Chernobyl, and is categorised as level 6 "serious accident" on the 7 level International Nuclear Events Scale. At least 200 people died as a result of radiation sickness, and 10000 people were evacuated from their homes.

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According to the words of many citizens of Ozersk, as of 2005 there is absolutely no risk of living there, because the radiation level decreased in the last 50 years. They also say there are no problems with both their health and the health of those who work at the plant nowadays. Nevertheless, this is still doubtful, and the citizens themselves admit that many people who worked at the plant in 50s and 60s died of the radiation.

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Sometimes it is considered that there were actually three accidents: the second was when due to heavy rains, the water from one of the polluted lakes made it into the Techa river, and the third was when due to unusual heat, radioactive sand from the dry lake was spread by the wind over the suburbs of Ozersk.

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The administration of the plant is often criticized during the last years, as it was found out that they dump radioactive wastes in the river Techa and several small lakes near the plant.

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Nuclear fuel reprocessing plant: redirect Nuclear reprocessing...

Kasli: Kasli () is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located 138 km north-west of Chelyabinsk at . Population: 19,091 (2002 Census); 21,530 (1989 Census)....

Kyshtym: Kyshtym () is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern slope of the South Ural Mountains some 90 km northwest of Chelyabinsk, near the town of Ozyorsk. Population: 41,929 (2002); 36,000 (1970)....