Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

Tolebay K. RAKHYPBEKOV1), Madina MADIYEVA2), Nailya CHAIZHUNUSOVA3), Tamara RYMBAEVA2), Gulnara BEREKENOVA4), Aizhan ABYLGAZINOVA1), Masaharu HOSHI5), Noriyuki KAWANO5), Ken INOUE6,7), Nobuo TAKEICHI7,8), Yoshihiro NOSO9), Shotai KOBAYASHI7) 1)Semey State Medical University, Semey, 071400, Abay st. 103, Kazakhstan 2)Department of Oncology and Visual Diagnostic, Semey State Medical University, Semey, 071400, Abay st. 103, Kazakhstan 3)Department of Nutrition and Hygienic Disciplines, Semey State Medical University, Semey, 071400, Abay st. 103, Kazakhstan 4)Department of Dental Disciplines, Semey State Medical University, Semey, 071400, Abay st. 103, Kazakhstan 5)Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 734-8553, Japan 6)Health Service Center, Kochi University, Kochi, 780-8520, Japan 7)Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, 693-8501, Japan 8)Takeichi Clinic, Hiroshima, 732-0806, Japan 9)Department of General Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, 693-8501, Japan (Rec...

Related articles: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349493823_Re_Overestimation_of_medical_consequences_of_nuclear_testing_in_Semipalatinsk_area_an_example
In Norwegian: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275652268_Vitenskapelig_uredelighet_i_Russland_en_eksempel_fra_radiasjonspatologi
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SUMMARY:
Under discussion is a series of studies [1-5] about carcinogenesis in the area of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. The following is stated in the English abstract: "17 patients (group 1) lived close to the nuclear testing area from the childhood to 1993 and were exposed to the radiation at the year dose 0.1 ber" [1]. A radiation dose unit "ber" (Biological Equivalent of Rad), used in Russia, is designated internationally as rem. The annual individual dose of 0.1 rem (1 mSv) is below the global average for annual doses from the natural radiation background, which is 2.4 mSv. The term "radiogenic cancer" was applied to the tumors with unproven radiation etiology. Unfounded claims were made about their rapid growth and "poor prognosis" [1]. The study was based on paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from patients with lung carcinoma: the first group - 17 cases from the area of Semipalatinsk, the second control group - 40 cases from non-contaminated areas. It is known from practice, that documentation in pathology departments does not usually permit determining how long a person had resided in the area. The following data are remarkable (verbatim from Russian): "The specific cytogenetic feature of the lung carcinoma in patients from the Semipalatinsk area was the neuroendocrine differentiation of cancer cells in all tumors independently of their histological structure. We have determined it using immunohistochemical and ultrastructural investigations". At the same time, "no neuroendocrine differentiation was shown in the control group" [1]. It means that the feature determined by two independent methods appeared in the first group in 100 % of cases (17/17) and in the second group - 0 % (0/40). Extremely high statistical significance of the difference between the two groups (P<0.0001) confirms the supposition that the "lung cancer in persons exposed for a long time to radionuclide radiation pollution" [1] is a specific entity, different from spontaneous lung carcinoma. Significant differences between the groups were found also for other markers e.g. Ki-67, which additionally enhances the statistical significance of the difference. It was concluded that "the lung cancer in patients, who resided in the area of Semipalatinsk and were exposed to elevated radioactivity, can be classified as neuroendocrine carcinoma". In the general population, neuroendocrine tumors represent only about 20-30 % of lung cancers. At the same time, the age and sex distribution in the first group was typical for spontaneous cancer possibly related to smoking and industrial pollution: 15 from 17 patients belong to the age group of 51-70 years. For radiogenic cancer, a younger age might be expected. In particular, typical for the spontaneous lung cancer is a predominance of males because of the smoking and professional carcinogens. In the group from Semipalatinsk were 16 men and one woman [5].
The term "radiation carcinoma" and "radiogenic cancer", discussions of its rapid growth and "poor prognosis" [1] can contribute to exaggeration of medical consequences of the elevated background radiation in the Semipalatinsk area. Some studies of the Chernobyl accident by the same authors have similar drawbacks. For example, in the paper [6], discussion on molecular-genetic features of the Chernobyl-related “radiogenic cancer” is based on 15 random autopsy and surgical cases of lung cancer from the areas quite distant from Chernobyl: eight cases were from Tula region in Russia [6].
REFERENCES
1. Kogan E.A., Sagindikova G.S., Sekamova S. M., Jack, G. (2002). Morphological, cytogenetic and molecular biological characteristics of lung cancer in persons exposed for a long time to radionuclide radiation pollution in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. Arkhiv Patologii, 64(5), 13-18.
2. Sagindikova G.E., Kogan E.A., Fligel' D. M., Teleulov M.K. (2007). Role of matrix metalloproteinases in the pathogenesis and morphogenesis of fibrocavernous tuberculosis in persons long living in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. Arkhiv Patologii, 69(3), 28-32.
3. Sagindikova G.E., Kogan, E.A., Satbaeva E.B., Paramonova N.B. (2008). Matrix metalloproteinases, their inhibitors and angiogenesis in different morphological types of lung precancer in persons who have long lived in the radioactive substance-polluted area of the Semipalatinsk Region, Kazakhstan. Arkhiv Patologii, 70(2), 21-25.
4. Sagindikova G.E., Kogan E.A., Satbaeva E.B. (2008). Immunohistochemistry of matrix metalloproteinases in different morphologic types of the lung cancer developed in the inhabitants of the Semipalatinsk Region. Arkhiv Patologii 70(1),26-29.
5. Sagindikova G.E. (2001). Dissertation. Moscow I.M. Sechenov Medical Academy.
6. Kogan E.A., Cherniaev A.L., Chuchalin A. G. et al. (1999). Morphologic and molecular-genetic characterization of lung cancer developing in people who have worked at nuclear facilities and who have lived in Russian territories polluted after the accident at the Chernobyl power plant. Arkhiv Patologii, 61(1), 22-26.

Abstract of a forthcoming paper.

The development of nuclear technology has been historically accompanied by secrecy. The inaugural experiment of the so-called science of Nuclear Physics, the Manhattan Project, which was carefully concealed from the American and the world public through an alliance of secrecy consıstıng of the US government and opposition, as well as media, has set the norm for the future conduct of the industry, in both its military and so-called peaceful applications. The element of secrecy that has been an essential character of the nuclear from its inception attains a new mode or regime in conjunction with the repressive modes of government already prevalent in these nuclear-aspirant nations.The case of Turkey suggests a rich lab for studying the particular manner in which the two regimes of secrecy have compounded one another.

In the article are considered legislative collisions of rights to a healthy environment of citizens living in the areas of the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. Numerous tests caused the irreparable damage to the population health and environment. Today there are problems of compensation for damage caused to person life and health, problems of ensuring social protection and the rehabilitation of the population living in zones of ecological catastrophe. The problem of resettlement of citizens living and carrying out cattle grazing in the polluted areas is not solved. This research shows that changes in the current legislation cause significant reducing in social population support, and some categories of the population are deprived of social benefits. The issue to supply drinking water for citizens must be solved. To solve the problems of damage is demanded the complex of measures for rehabilitation, social population protection and social economic developmen t of the territory. Keywords: Environment Law, the Semipalatinsk test site, rights to a healthy environment, nuclear lake.

This report seeks to offer a humanitarian perspective on the legacy of the nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. The report shows some of the ways in which the nuclear testing has impacted and still affects people living in the region, by investigating health consequences, the environmental situation around the test site, people’s experiences, and the state support system. The legacy of nuclear tests is evident even after more than 20 years after the closure of the test site and more than 50 years after the last surface detonation.