HUMAN TRAGEDY OF RUSSIAN PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION PORTRAYED IN PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

20 May 2002

Moscow - Greenpeace today launched an exhibition of photographs (1), at the prestigious Moscow House of Photography, highlighting the 'Cold War' human tragedy resulting from the production of plutonium at Russia's and the world's most contaminated nuclear site, Mayak, in the Chelyabinsk region.

While Moscow prepares for the arrival of US President Bush for the signing of an historic treaty on nuclear weapons reduction, Greenpeace released documents exposing a giant experiment conducted on the people of the Mayak region by the nuclear industry and called for the surrounding villages to be evacuated and all plans to expand the site to be abandoned.

The documents reveal the horrific extent of radioactive contamination. More than 1.5 million people of the Chelyabinsk region's 3.2 million population are threatened by radiation in their environment and food. Before Mayak began operating in the 1950s, 45 in every 100,000 people had cancer. By 2000 this had rocketed to 360 in 100,000, excluding any data from the areas' closed nuclear cities. In one village, Tatarskaya Karabolka, 500 of the 640 population have cancer - approximately 80%.

"The photographs are a testimony to the mass destruction perpetuated by the nuclear industry on surrounding populations. They are a snap shot of life in the shadow of the nuclear industry - A Half Life," said Mike Townsley of Greenpeace at the exhibition launch.

Mayak is at the centre of the Russian Nuclear Ministry's, Minatom, ambitions to turn the country into the world's nuclear waste dump. Minatom hopes to import some 20,000 tones of spent nuclear fuel in a deal it believes will earn some 20 billion US dollars. It claims to have had discussions with a number of potential client countries including: Germany, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

"We have suffered from radiation so much that almost every week someone in our village dies from cancer. So, why don't the members of the parliament think well before they permit nuclear waste into the country? Please think about our future," appealed Ramzis Fayzullin who lives near Mayak (2).

Minatom seeks to justify importing spent nuclear fuel claiming it is the only way to earn money to clean-up the surrounding areas. However, a report from the Russian Federal Court of Auditors exposes this lie. Between 1998 and 2000, the Auditors found that Minatom received 270 million US dollars in international aid to help deal with its spent nuclear fuel management crisis, but was unable trace what the money has been spent on. It is therefore hard to believe that Minatom is a trustworthy organisation and that it only seeks to earn money to increase its nuclear program, which can only lead to further contamination of the environment.

"The Russian Government has proven it will not maintain the people's right to a clean environment and does not guarantee that all damage to the health of its people will ever be compensated. In such a situation, further development of the nuclear industry in the country is a crime against morality," said Anna Il'ena, lawyer from the Chelyabinsk region (3).

The issue of spent nuclear fuel imports is likely to be discussed during the Bush-Putin summit in Moscow this week. Much of the spent nuclear fuel, which could be sent to Russia for disposal, was originally supplied by the US in contracts which gives it a 'prior consent right' over the transfer of nuclear materials to another country. President Bush could stop this insane proposal by simply refusing his authorization.

"The exhibition gives a voice to the people who have already paid the price for the Cold War and are now expected to play host to an international radioactive waste dump. It is an appeal to governments all over the world not to abdicate responsibility for managing their own radioactive waste by sending it to Russia. In particular, if President Bush is to 'liquidate the legacy of the Cold War' he must refuse to underwrite turning Mayak into the world's nuclear waste dump.," said Townsley.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Mike Townsley, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaigner - in Moscow +31 62 129 6918
- Mhairi Dunlop, Greenpeace International Nuclear Press Co-ordinator in Moscow +31 65 350 4731

Images from the exhibition are available from John Novis, Greenpeace International Photo Desk - in Moscow +31 65 381 9121

Visit www.greenpeace.org/mayak for more information.

(1) The photographs were taken by Dutch photo-journalist, Robert Knoth in the villages around the Mayak nuclear complex in 2000 and 2001. His work has been extensively published and since 1994 he has worked in many parts of the world including Afghanistan, Sudan, the former Yugoslavia, Angola, Somalia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

(2) Ramzis Fayzullin suffers from hydrocephalu and requires expensive medication to ease his severe headaches.

(3) Lawyer Anna Il'ena has represented over two dozen victims of radiation in their efforts to get compensation for their suffering and the high medical costs.

Download the Greenpeace background briefing on Mayak (in pdf).