Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan was a primary testing
area for the nuclear weapons of the Soviet Union.
It is similar to the Trinity Site (now the White Sands
Missile Range) near Los Alamos and Santa Fe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semipalatinsk_Test_Site
Here the Americans set off their first atomic bomb,
at Semipalatinsk, the Soviets set off their first nuclear
bomb. They built a secret city 60 km away from the
testing grounds (the former research center
Semipalatinsk-21, now Kurchatov), similar to
Los Alamos.
Today, the people near Semipalatinsk still suffer
from the effects of radiation, the incidence of
cancer and cancer mortality has increased.
Is this a problem in New Mexico as well?
Is it a controversial topic in Santa Fe?
-J.
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