The Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons to rival the U.S after WWII
A hidden Mayak Plant was built by the USSR to produce plutonium near Chelyabinsk
Production was rushed and safety was least of concerns
Plutonium Production
The Mayak plutonium reactors were turned on for the production for nuclear weapons
The reactors were made out of metal-and-graphite to produce plutonium
However the liquid waste (cesium-137, strontium-90, and plutonium dust) was dumped into rivers and lakes contaminating them
Dangerous Waste Storage
The Mayak plant took used uranium fuel from its reactors and reprocessed it to extract plutonium for bombs.
This left behind highly radioactive liquid waste (nitrate-acetate mixtures).
The cooling waste pipes began to generate heat and caused them to rust, which together creates risk for explosion of the pipes because of pressure build up
The Kyshtym Explosion
The cooling system failed and the 80 ton radioactive waste tank exploded because of the heat and pressure
20 million curies of radiation were released
200 square miles were contaminated and around 270,000 people in nearby villages were exposed
The Governments Secret Explosion
Because the Mayak plant was a part of the Soviet Union's top secret nuclear weapons program the government kept the disaster and explosion a secret from the public
Radiation spread over 20,000 square kilometers in the Ural Mountains.
-The Soviet government kept the incident secret and blamed industrial issues, as a cover up
Hidden Evacuations
Soviet officials did not admit to the explosion having deadly radiation released to the public
Villagers and workers began getting sick plus burns, nausea, and hair loss
Around 10,000 people were evacuated with no medical care or explanation
East Ural Radioactive Trace Zone
East Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT) was discovered by scientists
The EURT is 300km long and 50km wide
Rivers, soil, crops were all contaminated, making them still unsafe today
EURT Declared a Closed Zone
The government officially admitted to the explosion
The most radioactive zones were closed off to the public, and even removed from maps
The villages were cleaned up and destroyed, and those workers got contaminated
The Explosion is Exposed to the Public
Scientist Dr. Zhores Medvedev published a magazine which revealed the explosion to the West.
Western nuclear experts from Sweden, U.K, and the U.S studied radiation data and satellite images, confirming that the major nuclear accident had occurred.
The disaster was officially named the as the Kyshtym Disaster
Truth Revealed
Nobody knew how bad the radiation from the explosion really was until after the Soviet Union collapsed and government files were released.
These files included Medical data, cancer rates, and birth defects rates in people living near the Mayak plant and along the Techa River.
The disaster was rated a Level 6 under the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, (just below Chernobyl which was at level 7 for comparison)
