OSCE Centre launches information campaign for residents around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site

ALMATY, 21 September 2004 - A series of lectures on radiological safety for people living in villages and camps near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in northern Kazakhstan is being held by the OSCE Centre in Almaty and the National Forum on Radiological Protection and Ecology.

The project was launched early this year in the framework of the Environmental and Security Initiative, ENVSEC in Kazakhstan.

The lectures are designed to help the locals understand the threats and dangers of living close to the contaminated site and minimize the impact of contamination on their health.

Ambassador Ivar Vikki, Head of the OSCE Centre in Almaty, who participated in project activities in the villages of Mostik and Sarzhalsaid: "People in the region should not just be seen as a source of scientific information for researchers. It is very important that the information on findings is shared with those living in the region so they can have a safer life in this environment".

The information campaign beganin August and will continue through November. About 30 villages and winter camps of herders in the East-Kazakhstani, Pavlodar and Karaganda regions will be covered.

The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed in 1991. Over 500 nuclear devices had been detonated during the more than 40 years it was in use.