28 Stefan Guth
the reservoir growing at a quick pace, the cloaca soon again came dangerously close to the city. After some 30 years of operation, a lake of 72 km 2
filled the Koshkar-Ata depression a mere 5 km North of the city, brimming
with more than 350 million tons of tailings – including low and midlevel
radioactive wastes, acids, and toxic heavy metals. 64 Today, it constitutes one
of the largest tailings reservoirs worldwide, and its activity level is currently
estimated at 11 000 Ci or 888 TBq, according to various sources. 65 Due
to evaporation, ever larger parts of the lake fall dry and expose radioactive
and toxic sediments to wind erosion, leading to a constantly deteriorating
radiation situation. 66 Compounding the problem of radioactive dust is the
danger of ground and seawater contamination. Tailings have seeped from
the unsealed reservoir into the ground for decades to presently form a contamination halo of 2–4 km around it; they are expected to eventually trickle
into the nearby Caspian. 67
In addition to liquid wastes, the PGMK also released large quantities of
pollutants into the atmosphere, including radioactive dust. 68 Oil and gas
drilling further exacerbated the problem of radioactive contamination. 69
The problem was caused by radioactive brine that accompanied the oil
when it was pumped to the surface and left residues on pipes over time.
Most of the drilling equipment used in the region therefore accumulated
activities ranging from a moderate 40 to an impressive 1 500 µR/h (micro
roentgen per hour), and accordingly, should have been treated as radioactive waste. 70
While many ecological problems were left unattended for most of the Soviet
period (for what limited protection measures there were, see below), some
efforts were made to limit the impact of production-related health hazards
on the employees of the city’s nuclear industries. Both at the hydrometallurgical factory of the PGMK and at the reactor building of the MAEK, shift
times were reduced when radiation levels exceeded the permissible limits. 71
At the uranium mines, the driveways were regularly sprinkled with water
to settle radioactive dust, and truck drivers were required to wear respirators. 72 At the uranium-processing combine, healthcare measures included,
somewhat oddly, the administration of a glass of red wine to workers before
shifts, which was believed to impede the absorption of radionuclides into the
human body. 73
Unlike the early days of the Soviet nuclear project – or, for that matter,
its American counterpart – in the 1970s, employees of nuclear enterprises
in the USSR were no longer left ignorant about the health hazards associated with their jobs. 74 Rather, working conditions for a number of functions
were officially categorized as “harmful” (vrednye usloviia truda), which entitled
the respective workers to privileges such as higher pay, shorter workdays,
and early retirement. 75 As a result, “accumulating unhealthy work years”
(zarabotka vrednogo stazha) became a valid career option for part of the workforce. Among those who chose benefits over health, male workers seem to
have aspired to quickly make a good fortune and then return to their regions
the reservoir growing at a quick pace, the cloaca soon again came dangerously close to the city. After some 30 years of operation, a lake of 72 km 2
filled the Koshkar-Ata depression a mere 5 km North of the city, brimming
with more than 350 million tons of tailings – including low and midlevel
radioactive wastes, acids, and toxic heavy metals. 64 Today, it constitutes one
of the largest tailings reservoirs worldwide, and its activity level is currently
estimated at 11 000 Ci or 888 TBq, according to various sources. 65 Due
to evaporation, ever larger parts of the lake fall dry and expose radioactive
and toxic sediments to wind erosion, leading to a constantly deteriorating
radiation situation. 66 Compounding the problem of radioactive dust is the
danger of ground and seawater contamination. Tailings have seeped from
the unsealed reservoir into the ground for decades to presently form a contamination halo of 2–4 km around it; they are expected to eventually trickle
into the nearby Caspian. 67
In addition to liquid wastes, the PGMK also released large quantities of
pollutants into the atmosphere, including radioactive dust. 68 Oil and gas
drilling further exacerbated the problem of radioactive contamination. 69
The problem was caused by radioactive brine that accompanied the oil
when it was pumped to the surface and left residues on pipes over time.
Most of the drilling equipment used in the region therefore accumulated
activities ranging from a moderate 40 to an impressive 1 500 µR/h (micro
roentgen per hour), and accordingly, should have been treated as radioactive waste. 70
While many ecological problems were left unattended for most of the Soviet
period (for what limited protection measures there were, see below), some
efforts were made to limit the impact of production-related health hazards
on the employees of the city’s nuclear industries. Both at the hydrometallurgical factory of the PGMK and at the reactor building of the MAEK, shift
times were reduced when radiation levels exceeded the permissible limits. 71
At the uranium mines, the driveways were regularly sprinkled with water
to settle radioactive dust, and truck drivers were required to wear respirators. 72 At the uranium-processing combine, healthcare measures included,
somewhat oddly, the administration of a glass of red wine to workers before
shifts, which was believed to impede the absorption of radionuclides into the
human body. 73
Unlike the early days of the Soviet nuclear project – or, for that matter,
its American counterpart – in the 1970s, employees of nuclear enterprises
in the USSR were no longer left ignorant about the health hazards associated with their jobs. 74 Rather, working conditions for a number of functions
were officially categorized as “harmful” (vrednye usloviia truda), which entitled
the respective workers to privileges such as higher pay, shorter workdays,
and early retirement. 75 As a result, “accumulating unhealthy work years”
(zarabotka vrednogo stazha) became a valid career option for part of the workforce. Among those who chose benefits over health, male workers seem to
have aspired to quickly make a good fortune and then return to their regions