By NASA, Jan Rieke (color correction, borders and labels) - NASA World Wind screenshot (Landsat Global Mosaic visual layer), Public Domain, Link
Standing for just one hour at the shore of Russia's Lake Karachay ("black water") in 1990 would have killed you. Before it was buried beneath concrete and stone, the lake held an apocalyptic secret: over 50 times more radioactive material than was released in the Chernobyl disaster.
For decades, the Soviet Union's Mayak nuclear facility — built in secrecy between 1946-1948 as part of Stalin's nuclear weapons program — used this small lake in the Ural Mountains as a convenient dumping ground for its most dangerous nuclear waste, creating what the Worldwatch Institute would later describe as "the most polluted spot on Earth." To spread the good cheer, the 1957 Kyshtym Disaster (an explosion in underground storage vats) forced officials to start dumping the radioactive schmutz in other areas, including the nearby Techa River.
The lake became even more deadly when it started drying up in 1968, exposing radioactive sediment on the shoreline. Winds swept up the contaminated dust and carried it across the countryside, irradiating half a million people. In nearby villages like Metlino, doctors worked overtime treating what they could only call the "special disease"— the compassionate servants in the Politburo forbade them from mentioning radiation in their diagnoses.
The lake bed itself was a monument to nuclear horror — its sediment, nearly 11 feet deep, was composed almost entirely of high-level radioactive waste. Between 1978 and 1986, as the deadly reality of the situation became clear, workers risked their lives to dump almost 10,000 hollow concrete blocks into the lake to keep the radioactive sediment from shifting. The project to finally bury the lake completely would take until 2015, when the last layer of rock and soil transformed Lake Karachay from a liquid nightmare into what officials euphemistically termed "a near-surface permanent and dry nuclear waste storage facility."
While the lake is now sealed, the site remains one of the most contaminated places on Earth, with massive amounts of radioactive material contained beneath its surface, and will remain dangerous for generations, requiring ongoing monitoring and management. I'm sure President Putin will make sure it stays safe at any cost.
Previously:
This Victorian ghost book exposed spiritualist frauds with cool optical illusions
In 1864, a peculiar book called "Spectropia" offered Victorian readers a scientific way to summon ghosts. As the Smithsonian reports, author J.H. Brown created this "toy book" to combat what… READ THE REST
Resarch platform FLIP Ship to be refitted instead of scrapped
The R/P FLIP (Research Platform FLoating Instrument Platform) was built in 1962 by the US Navy and operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It features the unique ability to… READ THE REST
Blindfolded bats can navigate solely with echolocation
"Blind as a bat" is a cute but zoologically inaccurate simile. All bats have some vision, and some can even perceive ultraviolet light. A new study investigated whether "blind" bats… READ THE REST
You won't believe what people are using in their scrapbooks now
TL;DR: Junk journalers love this Kodak instant photo printer—check out now to save 30%. It's garbage. Yup. Everywhere these new scrapbookers go, they collect pieces of trash like raccoons — train tickets,… READ THE REST
Are your knives ready for holiday meal prep? Get 'em ready with this knife sharpener
TL;DR: Bring your dull knives back to life with this professional-grade knife sharpener, now $49.99 (reg. $199) for only two more days. Be honest: when was the last time you sharpened your… READ THE REST
Meet the tiny cam with big skills
TL;DR: This versatile little camera can be used as a body cam, dash cam, and more—plus, it records day or night for just $49.99 (reg. $89.99). Ever wish you had an extra… READ THE REST