In 1965, the Soviet Union detonated a 140-kiloton nuclear bomb in Kazakhstan to create a reservoir, but the resulting 'Atomic Lake' remains radioactive and contaminated.
Soviet nuclear test in Kazakhstan
In 1965, the Soviet Union detonated a nuclear bomb with a yield of 140 kilotons in the Kazakh steppe, creating a crater 400 meters in diameter. This test, known as the Tchagan test, was part of a program called Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy, which aimed to use nuclear weapons for engineering projects such as digging canals, reservoirs, or trenches.Location and purpose of the test
The test was conducted in a dried riverbed at the confluence of the Tchagan and Achtchissou rivers near Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. The objective was to measure how a nuclear explosion shapes a crater and to demonstrate that it could be used to build a water reservoir.Formation of the Atomic Lake
The explosion created a crater 400 meters in diameter and 100 meters deep, bordered by a lip of soil projected high of 20 to 38 meters. The waters of the two rivers rushed into this cavity, forming a body of water of about 10 million cubic meters, which was nicknamed the Atomic Lake.Environmental and international consequences
The test was considered a success in terms of creating a water reservoir, but it had significant environmental consequences. Approximately 20% of the generated radioactivity escaped the site, contaminating eleven neighboring villages and even reaching Japan. The United States accused the USSR of violating the 1963 international treaty, which prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere.Legacy of the Tchagan test
More than sixty years later, the waters of the lake remain radioactive and have never been usable for irrigation or livestock watering as initially planned. The Tchagan test was the first of a series of 124 detonations under the Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program, but it remains the most notable due to its power and long-term consequences.Ongoing environmental impact
The Atomic Lake continues to be a silent witness to the era when it was thought that nuclear energy could be harnessed to shape the landscape without fully considering the long-term environmental impact.
