156 Tanja Penter
has now been shut down, and the radiation exposure in connection with oil
production should also be mentioned in connection with the increased radiation exposure. 81
In Kazakhstan, already in the late Soviet era under Gorbachev, environmental activists unleashed a wave of opposition, such as the Almaty demonstrations that were kept down by the force of police. The issue of nuclear
testing was publicly raised in 1989 at demonstrations for independence in
Almaty. Later, political protests were organized by the Nevada-Semipalatinsk
Movement, which was together with the Chelyabinsk antinuclear protests
among the first antinuclear movements created on the territory of the former
USSR. Eventually, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed in 1991.
In independent Kazakhstan in December 1992, a “Law on the Social
Protection of Citizens Exposed due to Nuclear Tests at the Semipalatinsk
Nuclear Test Site” had been adopted, which declared the social protection and compensation of citizens, who suffered from nuclear testing near
Semipalatinsk. 82 The Kazakh law identified three zones for increased to
extraordinary radioactive risk, where the dose ranged from 70 to over 1,000
mSv (accumulated during the whole period of nuclear tests since 1949).
However, for economic reasons, it was not implemented and put on hold for
several years.
The wording of the law starts with the statement that the testing of nuclear
weapons, which were carried out within 40 years in Semipalatinsk, caused
irreplaceable damage to the health of people and the surrounding environment, which became visible in an increase of disease and death rates. Like
in the Ukrainian and Belarusian laws, the affected regions were declared
to “zones of ecological emergency.” Moreover, the law also recognized the
effects of radiation in the following generations and declared the governments’ obligation to compensate the citizens’ damages of health and property.
The Kazakh law bore several similarities with the Ukrainian, Belarusian,
and Russian laws in defining different exposure groups and categories of
claimants, but the Kazakh approach was the most comprehensive. It defined
the different zones of radiation risk and threshold values and listed the
administrative regions and settlements, which belonged to the different risk
zones. Moreover, from the beginning, the law included all people who lived,
worked, or carried out military service on these territories during the period
of the nuclear testing – it was not limited to those who had developed significant medical conditions associated with radiation exposure. The government has officially recognized 1,323,000 people as having been negatively
affected by the nuclear tests. Of these, 1,057,000 have received “radiation
passports” (poligonnoe udostoverenie) officially confirming their status. 83 In
addition, following the Russian example, some benefits were admitted to residents of the so-called territory of special privileged socio-economic status –
defined by law as an area adjacent to the minimum radiation risk area with
a low radiation dose. The law excluded people who moved to contaminated
areas after 1991. Compensation and benefits included small direct payments
has now been shut down, and the radiation exposure in connection with oil
production should also be mentioned in connection with the increased radiation exposure. 81
In Kazakhstan, already in the late Soviet era under Gorbachev, environmental activists unleashed a wave of opposition, such as the Almaty demonstrations that were kept down by the force of police. The issue of nuclear
testing was publicly raised in 1989 at demonstrations for independence in
Almaty. Later, political protests were organized by the Nevada-Semipalatinsk
Movement, which was together with the Chelyabinsk antinuclear protests
among the first antinuclear movements created on the territory of the former
USSR. Eventually, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed in 1991.
In independent Kazakhstan in December 1992, a “Law on the Social
Protection of Citizens Exposed due to Nuclear Tests at the Semipalatinsk
Nuclear Test Site” had been adopted, which declared the social protection and compensation of citizens, who suffered from nuclear testing near
Semipalatinsk. 82 The Kazakh law identified three zones for increased to
extraordinary radioactive risk, where the dose ranged from 70 to over 1,000
mSv (accumulated during the whole period of nuclear tests since 1949).
However, for economic reasons, it was not implemented and put on hold for
several years.
The wording of the law starts with the statement that the testing of nuclear
weapons, which were carried out within 40 years in Semipalatinsk, caused
irreplaceable damage to the health of people and the surrounding environment, which became visible in an increase of disease and death rates. Like
in the Ukrainian and Belarusian laws, the affected regions were declared
to “zones of ecological emergency.” Moreover, the law also recognized the
effects of radiation in the following generations and declared the governments’ obligation to compensate the citizens’ damages of health and property.
The Kazakh law bore several similarities with the Ukrainian, Belarusian,
and Russian laws in defining different exposure groups and categories of
claimants, but the Kazakh approach was the most comprehensive. It defined
the different zones of radiation risk and threshold values and listed the
administrative regions and settlements, which belonged to the different risk
zones. Moreover, from the beginning, the law included all people who lived,
worked, or carried out military service on these territories during the period
of the nuclear testing – it was not limited to those who had developed significant medical conditions associated with radiation exposure. The government has officially recognized 1,323,000 people as having been negatively
affected by the nuclear tests. Of these, 1,057,000 have received “radiation
passports” (poligonnoe udostoverenie) officially confirming their status. 83 In
addition, following the Russian example, some benefits were admitted to residents of the so-called territory of special privileged socio-economic status –
defined by law as an area adjacent to the minimum radiation risk area with
a low radiation dose. The law excluded people who moved to contaminated
areas after 1991. Compensation and benefits included small direct payments