Semipalatinsk Test Site Cleanup Continues in Abai Region
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Cleanup and medical support work continues in Kazakhstan's Abai region 35 years after the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site closed. More than 375,000 people have been registered as radiation-affected since 2002, and 472,000 hectares of land have been deemed safe for agricultural use.
Key Facts
- Since 2002, more than 375,000 people have been registered as radiation-affected at the Research Institute of Radiation Medicine and Ecology in Semey.
- Over the past 20 years, more than 706,000 people have been examined at the institute.
- 472,000 hectares of the former test site have been deemed safe for agricultural use and transferred to the Abai region in April 2026.
- The Semipalatinsk test site covers 1.8 million hectares across Abai, Karaganda, and Pavlodar regions, with 1 million hectares in Abai.
- 22 social service centers operate in the region, including a rehabilitation center built on the President's order with capacity for 150 people at a time.
Medical Monitoring and Care
The Research Institute of Radiation Medicine and Ecology in Semey has monitored residents affected by the test site for decades. Since 2002, more than 375,000 people have been registered as radiation-affected. Gulnar Azhmuratova, head of a department at the institute, said cancer rates are elevated among the affected population. Lung and bronchial cancers, breast cancer in women, and head and eye cancers occur twice as often in this group, she said. The institute provides comprehensive care from diagnosis to treatment, with more than 706,000 people examined over the past 20 years.
Land Rehabilitation and Transfer
Specialists from the National Nuclear Center have spent several years assessing radiation levels across the former test site. They mapped safe and usable areas, identifying 472,000 hectares suitable for agricultural use. This land was transferred to the Abai region in April 2026. Anuar Beisenov, head of the architecture, construction, and land relations department, said 13 land plots registered as contaminated will be reclassified as clean. The reclassification affects eight farms, he said.
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Semipalatinsk Test Site Cleanup Continues in Abai Region
