Chelyabinsk Yabloko honoured the memory of the victims of the Mayak nuclear tragedy in 1957
Press Release, 30.09.2024
September 29 marked 67 years since the Kyshtym nuclear accident – a nuclear explosion at the Mayak chemical plant. The explosion was the result of a violation of the cooling regime of the storage tank for radioactive waste. In its severity, the accident is second only to the Chernobyl and Fukushima-1 accidents. 1,007 personnel of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, who were guarding nuclear industry facilities, were exposed to radiation. 12 years ago, a stone was laid in Chelyabinsk for a monument to the victims of radiation, but the authorities have not yet found a way to install it. The Chelyabinsk Yabloko activists visited the site of the future memorial and honoured the memory of the victims of the Kyshtym accident.
As a result of the radiation accident at Mayak, which is considered to be the first such accident in the USSR, the East Ural radioactive trace was formed, and over 80,000 people were exposed to radiation, 23 settlements were resettled.
Considering how the residents of the South Urals and the Chelyabinsk region suffered from radiation, all the talks about the construction of the South Ural nuclear power plant look like a mockery of memory and common sense, Chelyabinsk Yabloko activists note.
Posted: September 30th, 2024 under Environmental Policies, Governance, Human Rights, Protection of Environment, YABLOKO for Nuclear Safety, Yabloko's Regional Branches.