August 29 is the International Day against Nuclear Tests. This day was proclaimed by the decision of the UN General Assembly on December 2, 2009. The draft resolution was proposed by Kazakhstan. On that day in 1991 the Semipalatinsk Test Site was closed by the Decree of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. 26 states became coauthors of the resolution including Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The Semipalatinsk Test Site was created in 1948 especially for the first Soviet nuclear device test. In 1949-1989 at least 468 nuclear tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The total yield of tested in 1949-1963 bomb was 2,5 thousand times more powerful than Hiroshima bomb. Nuclear tests resulted in radioactive pollution of the Eastern part of the territory of Kazakhstan. Soon after the proclamation of the Independence the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Decree closing the polygon. By 1994 all Russian military units working at the test site left Kazakhstan. Approximately 300 thousand people were officially recognized as the victims of nuclear tests. High mortality rate, critical level of cancer cases, congenital pathologies still remain in the Semipalatinsk region. Life expectancy here is limited to 40-50 years of age. The International Day against Nuclear Tests is aimed to actively inform people about the consequences of nuclear weapon tests and any other nuclear explosions and the need to abolish them. RIA Novosti http://ria.ru/spravka/20100829/268807418.html#ixzz2bCVjhyR4 [ http://ria.ru/spravka/20100829/268807418.html#ixzz2bCVjhyR4 ]
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