Kazakhstan: Former Nuclear Site Should be on Unesco List - Scientist

The Semipalatinsk nuclear test range should be included on the UNESCO world cultural and heritage list, a top Kazakh scientist says.

"It is one of the largest nuclear test ranges in the world. To some extent, tests at the range provided for parity between the superpowers which, in the long run, become a key factor in determining the global historic development of the 20th century," said Sergey Lukashenko, director of the institute for radiation security and environment under the Kazakh National Nuclear Center. Lukashenko's comments appeared in the Liter newspaper on February 25.

"If you take into consideration the interest foreign organizations show in the range, we believe it'd be wise to grant memorial status to the whole set of facilities at the range by including it to the list of UNESCO's world cultural and natural heritage," Lukashenko added.

The Semipalatinsk nuclear test range is one of the most irradiated sites in the world. Over the course of more than 40 years, ending in 1989, more than 450 atomic tests were conducted across 300 square kilometers of the north-eastern Kazakh steppe.