Lake Karachay: The USSR’s Deadly Nuclear Lake

USSR. Nuclear energy. Sigh.
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Source/Further reading:
New Scientist, Russia’s Toxic Shocker: www.newscientist.com/article/...
Nuclear Engineering Magazine on the clean-up: www.neimagazine.com/news/news...
Nuclear Threat Initiative overview: www.nti.org/learn/facilities/...
Bellona environment group on the clean-up: bellona.org/news/russian-huma...
Natural Resources Defense Council overview: www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf...
Bellona, Kyshtym disaster: bellona.org/news/nuclear-issu...
Britannica: www.britannica.com/event/Kysh...
City 40 general overview: www.theguardian.com/cities/20...
Mayak villagers’ tragedy: www.rferl.org/a/russia-mayak-...
2016 documentary on City 40: • Video
Interview with an American scientist who worked there: medicine.utah.edu/radiology/n...
First Lightning: www.history.com/this-day-in-h...
Bomb yield comparisons: graphics.reuters.com/LEBANON-...

[@yourmajesty7386]

I grew up in Chelyabinsk. Half the people I knew are dead of cancer, some as young as 20. Simon isn't bullshitting about any of this. That place is fucked with a capitol F.

[@dominusetdeus060644]

What was life there?

[@tomas_g8699]

How big radiation was there? If you know pls tell in roengens.

[@alexwattaul7237]

Make sure to collect on that $15 payout

[@cowsharkdefin6376]

I hope you're ok. Wherever you're living now, does it have good healthcare?

[@lextuomr3291]

Thats is sad and Fucked. Hope the best health there for you.

[@drewping2002]

In Soviet Russia, Fallout plays YOU!

[@theshadowman1398]

Don’t exaggerate

[@jaym9170]

@@theshadowman1398 r/whoooosh

[@bubbahottep8644]

Best comment here.

[@NenadKralj]

🤣🤣🤣

[@mondoseguendo6113]

For real, yo.

[@derigelfisch3776]

USSR during Chernobyl: "Don't worry guys, we got this. We've dealt with nuclear disaster cleanup before" Literally everyone else: "You have WHAT?"

[@nataliewisdom4790]

Lmao

[@vonfaustien3957]

Meanwhile the CIA is walking away whistling and thinking shit hope it doesnt come out we knew about the fuck up and covered it up ourselves it to avoid antinuke sentiment in north America

[@davidhughes1070]

Why did you say literally before you said everyone?

[@KPX-nl4nt]

@@vonfaustien3957 Is this just another conspiracy theory or do you have proof? I’d like to see that evidence.

[@BackYardScience2000]

@@KPX-nl4nt asking for proof about something that the CIA did. 😂

[@louisvanbastenbatenburg8649]

The USSR, the only country that has had more nuclear disasters than Simon has youtube channels

[@michellezimmerman8019]

That are all so good, though...

[@shilka7020]

@@michellezimmerman8019His channels are the Yin to the USSR's nuclear disasters Yang

[@samiraperi467]

TBF, USA classified some of its disasters as "experiments". (*cough*Bikini for one*cough*)

[@gregparrott]

Heck, it appears that they've had more accidents than Homer has had episode of 'The Simpsons'.

[@adder3597]

@@samiraperi467 You're not wrong, though half the US nuclear fuckups were with badly planned nuclear tests. Half the Soviet mistakes were nothing to do with nuclear testing.

[@annapmark536]

About 'those poor bastards': in one Chernobyl documentary the narrator, a plant worker, mentions how he as a kid once went to his grandparents to the Ural mountains... only to be evacuated and have his clothes taken away and destroyed because of, you guessed it, the Kyshtym disaster. So there's at least one poor bastard that managed to be present at both Soviet nuclear disasters

[@lunagal]

The disaster at Kyshtym was known prior to Chernobyl. I first read about Kyshtym in 1983, while researching nuclear power. Scientists had read the radiation levels coming from Russia and suspected “something” happened. A Soviet scientist defected and verified it.

[@georgekaplan6451]

I think it was unknown in the west until 1976 when the Soviet defector revealed it.

[@EyeKnowRaff]

NSA & CIA probably knew before that with the Corona satellites.

[@RobertB168]

Yes I read about Kystym in the 1980s. There was a lot of research coming out a out the effects of large scale nuclear contamination, and it was possible to work out roughly what caused it.

[@rosiehawtrey]

There were roadsigns "floor it, and don't stop" in Russian - a Lada 1500 flat out might make 105mph. It was a criminal offence to stop. They burnt down the houses so no one could move in afterwards. It's now a "nature reserve".

[@AB-80X]

A very fenced off "nature reserve".

[@nootnoot6404]

So basically, 1967 saw the first Fallout 4 Rad-storm. But this one will actually melt your face

[@quinnzyker6521]

They didn’t have rad away

[@DatBoyIsAvirgin]

@@quinnzyker6521 nor rad-x to prevent it

[@blankmocha93]

Fallout 76 beta

[@halfdead4566]

The rad sea

[@grumpypotamus7143]

I saw this and first thought was hope they stocked up on RadAway!

[@nikolairubinskii6450]

Kyshtym 1957 has still not been fully declassified and the cleaners of that mess could never get any compensation, not even what Chernobyl's liquidators could get. My mother's family is somewhere from those polluted lands and we went visiting when I was 3 or 4 yo, for a couple of weeks. My lil brother who was brought with us was still giving off a slightly higher than ambient radiation readings 15 years later at a science class in school.

[@sashakazmar6142]

I was born and raised in Chelyabinsk. Love all the USSR episodes because I learn a lot about its history that was not taught in schools back then.

[@matthewburns9409]

How was it? Do you still live in Russia or got out? What do you make of the Russia today?

[@rheinhardtgrafvonthiesenha8185]

The truth is likely somewhere in the middle

[@westzed23]

A neighbour was in Ukraine when Chernobyl happened. By the time they found out it was days later. She said that if that was how the people were treated, they were leaving. They were fine but other family wasn't.

[@jamespyacek2691]

@@westzed23 Kinda tells you one reason East Europe countries wanted nothing to do with the Soviet "Union".

[@superturkeylegs]

Why are gulags so taboo to discuss in Russia? I've read Gulag Archipelago and Kolyma Stories. Not to sound insensitive, but that generation is dying off without being able to tell their story.

[@ANVofG]

Hope KGB won't read this. I'm from City 40 (Ozyersk) and got some remarks. Firstly, excluding german gulag prisoners, people were allowed to send letters to their families even in early years. Secondly, Techa isn't related to the word tech lol, "ch" sounds just like in word "change". Thirdly, Kyshtym is farther south from place of the explosion than City 40 itself and not in the affected area. Fun stories: Mayak workers used to tell their families that they work at a Chocolate factory, because of this and high standards of living they're called "Шоколадники" (sounds like *shock all ad nick E*) which means "Chocolate men". After explosion in 1957 people have been told that glowing sky they saw was aurora borealis. Yes, at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country. Feel free to ask questions.

[@RJStockton]

What do Russians call steamed hams?

[@baseballworldwide9439]

@@RJStockton let’s talk about Africans, that ok?

[@petere___r]

Can you tell more about the german men who was forced to work in that area ?

[@royalty1149]

im doing a project on lake karachay for school. I find it disgusting that the USSR did this to the lake, but i also find it interesting that they actually have a city by it. Best of luck to you, sir.

[@archlich4489]

Who cares if the FSB reads that. Hey FSB: подпрыгивать твоя задница!

[@dx1450]

"People knew not to go sunbathing there." Au contraire, my friend, you could get a sun tan in about three minutes, even at night. And your skin would have that healthy glow afterwards...

[@MelbaOzzie]

Yes, but as you glow in the dark, think of what you save on lighting bills.

[@karvast5726]

"Unless you are here for a green sun tan i suggest we get a move on" Nick Valentine in fallout 4

[@yasminout]

You go out there looking like Green Lantern

[@annonannon6712]

I love the USSR content, its like peaking behind the iron curtain (even though it is technically gone you know what I mean)

[@annonannon6712]

@UCQlyaSllGfK1nzby-QbH5LA I totally agree!

[@humanipulationnation]

☭ fascinating fascism ☭

[@supersportzcom]

Peeking? Peaking on shrooms behind iron curtain would be fun as well

[@Claytone-Records]

Lead curtain might be more appropriate.

[@nonnobissolum]

Using "peaking" instead of "peeking" is piquing my interest. Yes, call me a pedant, words and spelling matter, as does attention to detail.

[@BarkingShark]

The keyword is "other great disaster" cause Aral Sea? Chernobyl? Anthrax accident? Nuke testing? USSR was truly wildin'.

[@namenloss730]

I still remember my tanky classmates in college telling me that communism is the solution to our pollution problems :)

[@momokochama1844]

@@namenloss730 I'm from east germany and could tell your classmate some stories about pollution :) look up the cities Leuna, Bitterfeld/Wolfen or Borna synonymous for environmental catastrophes

[@Dinitroflurbenzol]

@@momokochama1844 "nennen Sie einen besseren Luftkurort als Bitterfeld!" "Bhophal"

[@auntiejen5376]

They wanted the bomb no matter the cost.

[@nydra9912]

@@auntiejen5376 dont they all?

[@TheProtagonistDies]

This guy was born to narrate

[@stipe3124]

Number of channels that he does narrate prove you are right

[@michaelhood5221]

This guy? His name is Simon

[@birttheintern8509]

@@michaelhood5221 allegedly...

[@michaelhood5221]

@@birttheintern8509 my man allegedly

[@kirkjohnson9353]

He really WAS born to narrate- which his mother found to be very annoying during breastfeeding and diaper change.

[@josephatthecoop]

Butte, Montana: "We have a lake so full of mine waste that migrating birds die after landing in it." Soviet Russia: "Hold my Vodka..."

[@zabdas83]

Wow - really! Whats the story to that, have the Mines/Coporations/CEOs etc been prosecuted? Is there any kind of clean up planned???

[@josephatthecoop]

@@zabdas83 It's called the Berkeley Pit. A mile long, 1/2 mile wide, and 1/3 of a mile deep. It was an open pit mine. Originally there was a classic tunnel mine following rich veins of copper, but in the 1950's they said "screw it, we'll just take apart the whole mountain." It was cheaper and safer, but I'm sure the "cheaper" part was their main concern. In 1982 they closed the mine and turned off the water pumps because hey, no one's mining any more. The water filling it up has become pretty acidic thanks to the sulfites in the rock, and it leaches lots of heavy metals out of the rocks thanks to the acidity. We're talking toxic amounts copper, iron, arsenic, cadmium, etc. Thousands of snow geese have died after landing on it. The mine owners, of course, claim that all the geese *just happened* to catch some fatal disease all on the same day.... I guess calling it mine waste isn't 100% accurate, because it's not like they dumped everything in there. It's more like they put everything in place for the disaster to happen and then walked away. The original owners were the Anaconda Mining company; their successors are Atlantic Richfield (aka ARCO, now part of BP). It's one of the biggest superfund sites, and ARCO is still on the hook for some of the costs, and supposedly are forever. They are working on ways to pump out the water and take the toxic metals from it. I've read someone has actually mined *the water* and gotten usable amounts of copper from it. Not far away in the town of Anaconda, they are also cleaning up the soil from all the stuff that came out of the smelters: same toxic metals, different delivery system. As far as I know there were never any prosecutions.

[@zabdas83]

@@josephatthecoop Thanks for the reply. Yeah its such a shame that 'some' of us would sacrfice this earth/life for an extra $. Just like Exxon Valdize or Deepwater Horizon - coroprate greed is mostly to blame for these natural disaters. Its only gona worse, as more sell out for the gods of Mammon...

[@dx1450]

@@josephatthecoop And wasn't one of the major problems with the toxic lake that it kept filling up and was in danger of overflowing it's banks?

[@steffenrosmus9177]

@@zabdas83 are you kidding? Butt is in the USA were companies buy politians no matter if they are Blue or RED.

[@sixstringedthing]

If you're ever offered a promotion that involves relocating to a city with a number after its name, it's probably time to start polishing up your resumé.

[@MrCenturion13]

And packing your bags...

[@sixstringedthing]

@@MrCenturion13 ...and speaking to That Guy who promised he could get you and your family out of the country for 'a quite reasonable fee'...

[@CptJistuce]

I don't believe the USSR usually extended "offers". I guess you COULD refuse... if you wanted to end up in an unmarked grave somewhere.

[@Igrikh_Leyboviz]

You fucked up even more if you offered to relocate in City 17

[@Joearebarba]

Gorky 17

[@nikolairubinskii6450]

Radioactive cloud from the 1957 explosion was glowing so bright in the night Ural sky that a local newspaper had to come up with a cover-up story a week later calling the glow a rare aurora event.

[@comment8767]

Bunk. If it was glowing, it was from sunlight at high latitudes at twilight.

[@notquiteatory971]

I’m beginning to feel that the USSR was an exercise in human irresponsibility

[@SM-pv4sn]

Beginning? I can assure you, the more you learn about the communist totalitarian states, the more it becomes clear they were among the greatest crimes against humanity ever comitted.

[@thegunslinger1363]

You should look up the Khmer Rouge. If you think this is bad.

[@KPX-nl4nt]

@@thegunslinger1363 True. They were so hardcore that even Vietnam decided they were too much and crushed them.

[@DieFlabbergast]

Don't worry, pretty soon they're going to replicate it somewhere else, possibly the USA.

[@ME262MKI]

And we didnt learn nothing, people keep waving that discusting flag, praising their "leaders" like heroes in T-shirts and banners, they should be treated worst that the nazis

[@QueenetBowie]

Everyone keeps says they love the USSR content, you’d probably enjoy modern Russian stories, they’re equally as depressing and in real time

[@alekswade5444]

If he is reading these comments, you should do a modern russian story

[@jokuvaan5175]

I watched a documentary about Russia's waste management and it's just god awful. Corruption everywhere, no recycling, everything from food waste to pain cans to car batteries just dumped to poorly regulated and often illegal landfills. Blooms of toxic gas from some landfills make you literally vomit and have put men women and children to hospital.

[@Jake_Hamlin]

@@jokuvaan5175 sounds like China..

[@AverageUsernames]

@@Jake_Hamlin A bit "better" kinda.

[@AB-80X]

Russia is one giant mistake. Everything about it is depressing.

[@31webseries]

New goal in life: Not to be referred to as one of "those poor bastards" in a future historian's broadcast.

[@rudra62]

I'm already certain that I won't be. In a few more decades, human stupidity will make humankind extinct, so no one will be around to document whatever happened to me.

[@StormsparkPegasus]

The explosion in the tank was caused by ammonium nitrate (same chemical as the 2020 Beiruit explosion). Once everything got heated up to about 350C, it basically became a massive fertilizer bomb. That just happened to have a bunch of nasty radioactive salts mixed in, which made it a massive fertilizer dirty bomb. Even though the one at Beiruit was much larger due to there being a LOT more ammonium nitrate, there wasn't any radioactive material stored with it in Beiruit, so it was just a big boom.

[@ursodermatt8809]

yeah ok, i can sleep better now

[@mrshhjj8899]

'just a big boom', a girl I know lived on the other side of town, literally 6 km fro mthe blast area and I saw a picture from her flat apt with teh entire windowframe shot out into the room. You will be sure to remember that 'just a big boom' for the rest of your life if you were there :P

[@christopherfritz3840]

That's utterly chilling..

[@calebbean1384]

​@@mrshhjj8899 but she won't die from radiation so that's nice

[@mrshhjj8899]

@@calebbean1384 Nope, it's just her country dieing in front of her eyes. Also partially due to USA ruining everything

[@jasonlib1996]

"sending the tanks lid, zooming off in the general direction of pluto" why do i love this line so much?

[@davidelliott5843]

Stalin killed at least one city when he switched off their power to feed his nuclear bomb plants. He literally left them to freeze. The whole approach to manufacturing nuclear bombs was equally brutal. This polluted lake should be no surprise.

[@Thaidory]

The ecosystem of that lake and it's surroundings must be quite fascinating.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - Secret city 5:00 - Chapter 2 - 1st lightning 8:45 - Chapter 3 - The forgotten chernobyl 12:15 - Chapter 4 - The clouds of death 15:50 - Chapter 5 - Clean up

[@jacobhuff3748]

Good old fashion Soviet mega disasters. Aralsk-7, the Drying of the Aral Sea, Chernobyl and more. One of the few areas that Soviet Union still ranks #1 til this day.

[@mattropolis99]

And then don't forget about the *planned* genocides of 'undesirable' ethnic groups that killed 100,000's.

[@dominichamilton7839]

And none of it was they're fault 😂😂😂

[@currentbatches6205]

2:53 - Actually, the design of the first Soviet nuke was the work of those at Los Alamos, with pretty thoroughly complete blueprints delivered to Stalin .by Klaus Fuchs. 18:52 - Bing maps (aerial view) has the lake partially waterfilled.

[@Newt.--.Jaeden]

Everytime I see something Soviet in the title I click.

[@jeffborders5526]

In Soviet Russia, things in Soviet clicks you.

[@claudiobizama5603]

Soviet and and Nuclear I'm interested

[@LuisLopez-ve5jt]

*Me sees the word Soviet in the title*: son of a bitch, I'm in!!! 😂😂😂

[@marialiyubman]

Bald and bankrupt, is that you?

[@Newt.--.Jaeden]

@@marialiyubman *A Soviet Sink!*

[@nuancedhistory9729]

Even today Mayak still has serious issues with safety and radiation releases. Both the 2017 and the 2020 detection in France and Sweden were due to reprocessing spent nuclear fuel at the Mayak site to create specialized isotopes for scientific projects (which, ironically, was for a project at the facility that detected the radiation emissions from the site in the case of the 2017 incident). As a proponent of Nuclear energy, and someone generally approving of RosAtom's ability to quickly construct nuclear reactors in the fight against climate change, Mayak is a really fucked up place and we need to be harder on Russia about getting their standards for reprocessing, waste disposal, and other important elements of the nuclear life cycle up to western standards.

[@Jake_Hamlin]

Western standards like Runit Island? Because the handling/cleanup of that place is abit of a joke..

[@nuancedhistory9729]

@@Jake_Hamlin The West has its own issues with the legacy of weapons production. Nobody is denying that. But my point is that active, operating facilities in the west for reprocessing nuclear fuel (particularly France's facilities at La Hague and Marcoule) have a FAR better track record than Mayak, and that western standards for the nuclear energy industry today are incredibly high, which Russia has yet to meet in many respects. Of course there are places like Mayak in the west, Sellafield is still a disaster. So is Hanford or Savannah River Site. But those facilities are legacy places, and what a place like Sellafield does today is not the same as how it operated 70 years ago. Hanford and others have been permanently shuttered.

[@Jake_Hamlin]

@@nuancedhistory9729 I'm from New Zealand so my opinion on Nuclear material is obviously bias

[@nuancedhistory9729]

@@Jake_Hamlin I understand that. I'm also strongly against pollution and nuclear weapons and the legacy they've left. However, I am strongly for it being used as a clean, peaceful energy source alongside solar and wind and other renewables.

[@matthewburns9409]

@@Jake_Hamlin the thing is Russia is a powderkeg of dilapidation. Take a look around on Google Streets and all you see is a heavily decaying infrastructure. I do wonder how Russias nuke infrastructure is being maintained because everything else is rusting lol. Seems all the money in Russia just goes straight to the inner circle of the kremlin and everyone else has standards of living largely far below an average western citizen.

[@critterjon4061]

Ah yes, forbidden swimming hole

[@grrlpurpleable]

Correction, "ONE of Russia's OTHER nuclear disasters". Chernobyl, Karachay, Semipalatinsk and I am sure there are others.

[@SyedImranTowhid]

If you search Tomsk 7 nuclear disaster, you will find another deadly one.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Shevchenko Sodium-Reactor Desalination Plant accident... on the shores of Kazakhstan a towns high-street being flooded ankle deep in fuel-grade radioactive ammonium.

[@davynhainstock7503]

Nuclear sub accidents?

[@Dont_Tread_on_Me448]

@@stanislavkostarnov2157 wtf , what happened to all the people of that town??

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

@@Dont_Tread_on_Me448 to be honest, no one quite knows, all data was basically destroyed (as it would be if you are the USSR) whilst certainly at least a few thousand did survive, the original, it is rumored that the death toll was also in the thousands rather then hundreds... the families were and I think still are banned from discussing the details of the event since its been named a strategic secret by the high court. This was still in the more strict days... most of the injured were taken to secure disabled-asylum hospitals, similar to those for the workers injured on military experiments... all registration and birth certificates were shredded (for many before they were involved/the town was a semi-closed city) most of what we know is from fishermen who came to sell fish in the market (not from actual town residents or reports)

[@demetrisswest]

All my family from mother's side was exposed to that radioactive cloud in 1957. My grangran, granny, aunts, uncle all passed away because of intestinal cancer. There are no warning signs around the area, and people still live there, with life expectancy of 45 years.

[@vermas4654]

"sadist in chief" I couldnt have come up with a better name for Beria

[@DrMuFFinMan]

I imagine living in Russia is like getting punched in the privates every time you wake, sleep, eat, or have a thought.

[@valacarno]

I wonder how many more there are places like Karachay. I remember when SU collapsed people were speculating there are hundreds of secret cities in Urals and behind them. I bet many of them are still secret until this very day, keeping their horrible secrets

[@thesteelrodent1796]

Well, they're visible on satellite footage, but there is supposedly many cities and facilities still where it remains a secret what they were built for, since the only people who knew about them are long dead and records buried in the KGB archives, or destroyed

[@markb2881]

I lived in WA state in the US for several years and heard different things about the Hanford nuclear site and the cleanup that's been going on there for decades. Idea for a future piece?

[@comment8767]

Yes. He could explain how tanks were built to contain radioactive waste products, and how the engineers who designed the site lived in Richland, which gets water from the same river, downstream.

[@harrymorris2361]

“Karachay had spent decades accumulating a level of toxicity unparalleled in history” Someone clearly hasn’t played League of Legends

[@d3eztrickz]

Don't give him any more channel ideas! 😂

[@EnDTh3S1L3NcE]

As a former LOL player, too true

[@prasunkumar117]

Flaskbacks to xbox live chat from 2008-2013

[@SRW_]

Lets play raid shadow legends

[@nahnopenopenope3406]

I don’t know if I’m just morbid or genuinely want the kind of knowledge that these videos give me... but either way, thanks for the work you put into your content!

[@chloefletcher9612]

This story is just mind blowing - every time you think that's it, it gets worse.

[@artvandelay6306]

Accidents, screw-ups, and poor decisions? By the Soviets? I'm shocked; shocked, I tell ya!

[@marianpizeno8511]

Does anyone else spend the first half of the day just listening to Simon???

[@sandybarnes887]

Yrs. With 11 channels he has a lot to listen to

[@bazzledust2912]

Usually the last 20 minutes

[@NewLifeFromTheWayofTruth]

Most definitely

[@jasonwright1687]

That is a good way to phrase it at the end... Yeah... Topics such as this , tragedies and disasters and such, they are not so much "enjoyable".... more of interesting and/or informative. That's what i love about your videos (all your videos across all channels) ... you are very informative and you keep the content easily digestible. Keep it up. Also, i believe i left you some bonus info on the MOAB video on megaprojects. . . . about how long they have had it and all the science.

[@RGC-gn2nm]

Soviet Russia. Holding all the beers.

[@crf80fdarkdays]

In soviet Russia, beer holds you

[@donaldkelly3983]

There have been some episodes concerning very disturbing Soviet Era mishaps, but this story is a new level!

[@SkullKing11841]

You should do more on USSR environmental disasters. There is at least a few more of them.

[@spacecadet35]

A much better ratio of Simon to data. He did get totally out of control there, but it is nice to see that they have pulled back and let the the data shine through and in this case Simon's delivery and personality aids in the information delivery, not hinders it. Good work. Keep it up.

[@nicholasmacnaughtan4492]

Would love a 'Space Themed Channel'. Your content is amazing. Love all your videos. Keeps me going through my long night shifts. 🤩

[@OU8Aspark]

Thank you for this video. Disasters like this should be known to everyone. I wish we could eliminate the radiation somehow.

[@AB-80X]

Or maybe just eliminate Russia and start over. The entire place and everything about it is a disaster.

[@UpperDarbyDetailing]

Radiation is a basic part of the universe. Without fusion we wouldn’t exist.

[@publicserviceannouncements2103]

9:36 when you cover up a verbal slip with the sound of an explosion. 🤣 classic.

[@BrianC1664]

well, it worked on me as I missed it

[@EK14MeV]

This is among your best videos. Well done.

[@MrSleazey]

Many years ago, I read an article that said the Soviets quit dumping nuclear waste into the Techa River, because they had learned that the the West had detected radioactivity in the Arctic Ocean. Analysis of the radio-isotopes in the waters of the Arctic were revealing details of what kind of nuclear research was going on in Russia. So they then switched from dumping radioactive waste into the Techa River, and switched purposely to the land bound Lake Karachay.

[@skippayless4357]

They were dumping so much nuclear waste that another country could detect it in the ocean..? That must have been an enormous amount of waste 🤢

[@Primetiime32]

Thank you for this video Simon. Time for me to start researching

[@evegreenification]

"This was something of a massive problem" well said.

[@GameCastingMedia]

Simon your beard is getting more brilliant every upload either that or I’ve been watching old graphics videos for way too long

[@NONYABUSINESSBOZO]

This video is extremely informative. I like how it summons up not only the basics of lake karachay but also narrows down a vast majority of things from that point in time that determined the history behind the toxicity of lake karachay. This is fascinating🙃🙃🙃

[@ensignmjs7058]

"And we're not giving away any prizes for guessing the name of that lake." I love his expressions during that sentence. 7:46.

[@whatever8282828]

It wasn't clear to me until the end that they didn't simply infill the lake bed, but entirely filled the lake. Wow.

[@clarkkent6043]

I find most of your videos educational!!! Keep up the great content

[@drakewaffles2952]

This is honestly the best documentary channel I have seen!!

[@PyroNexus22]

Look up the story of Alyoshenka, the Kyshtym Dwarf, so often thought to be an alien or a gnome, but in reality was likely just an underdeveloped child, deformed from radiation.

[@randallpetroelje3913]

I feel so bad for the poor people that have to deal with that crap. Thanks for your show!

[@1hungrygrizzly]

So glad you finally covered City 40

[@dallasl3688]

Fantastic video, Simon. Horrifying, but fantastic.

[@johncassels3475]

One of your better videos. Thanks.

[@NocturnalToothbrush]

This is literally the universe of the Fallout games in reality.

[@keith_5584]

I mean, didn't they trade a bunch of arms for Pepsi too? Enter NukaCola.

[@bstrdbss]

Not really.....

[@keith_5584]

@Interesting Fives Still sounds like a Bethesda game, I bet Russia has more realistic physics objects. If you can show me a russian man flying around standing on an engine I might be swayed.

[@benr.4238]

@Interesting Fives There are, but they are all variations of " cyka blyat"

[@NocturnalToothbrush]

@Interesting Fives LOL So true.

[@cillianwebster4886]

Awesome vid Simon & Co, will you guys be doing a vid on Stalingrad (Volgorgrad) in the near future?

[@declanoleary1]

As ever enlightening, backroom team, keep up the great work and keep'em coming,

[@katherinegilks3880]

Very interesting. Are there plans to make a video about Lake Baikal?

[@thejudgmentalcat]

There will come a time when every subject Simon covers has a sister subject he's already covered on another channel. SimonTube! ❤❤❤

[@amicloud_yt]

@Sigurður H Sigurðsson Business Blaze videos are often really long. But... they're not exactly the typical Simon format.

[@nealhoffman7518]

In 5 years universities will offer Whistler 101, 102, 201, and 202. In 20 it will be a major

[@BackYardScience2000]

In 30 years those universities will have halls named after him and he will be recognized as one of the greatest people of the first half of the 21st century.

[@DerptyDerptyDUM]

Simonception.

[@DerptyDerptyDUM]

@@amicloud_yt Allegedly.

[@jonathangiddings4907]

Brilliant video. Well done!

[@Fkidd702]

You should make a podcast! I would love to listen to this when I’m at work or in the car ! And since there really isn’t much to “see”

[@TonySpike]

Simon - "the USSR's other nuclear disaster" Me - remembers the 3 other geographics videos i have watched on the USSR's nuclear disasters

[@onyxdragon1179]

Simon: "On August the Sixth..." Me: *On August the sick*

[@Flymochairman1]

It's made clearer the reasons behind the recent troubles in the region, by the country with so many other toxic sores in itself. Interesting and equally terrifying and poignient. Cheers!

[@straswa]

Fascinating vid, nice work.

[@vinnyvalenti6189]

The 69' fire at Rocky Flats in Colorado. The glove boxes in buildings 779, 776 and 771 melted to the ground! A cloud of plutonium floated over Denver!

[@rudra62]

Now there's an elementary school on a cut-out area of Rocky Flats.

[@jackfanning7952]

@@rudra62 Yeah and they paved the roads and playgrounds of Lakota Indian land with radioactive tailings from uranium mines. When kids get out of the elementary school in Simi Valley they get together for an after school chemo party at the local cancer clinic because of the 2018 Woolsey Fire at the 19568 Santa Susana meltdown site. As a participation prize each kid gets one bead for every chemo treatment. You ought to take a look at those long necklaces those kids have. Little Gracie Bumstead is particularly blessed to have 2 nice, long necklaces from her two bouts with leukemia.

[@rudra62]

@@jackfanning7952 Yep. There is no thought put into what happens with the radioactive tailings of mines, nor to what happens with still-radioactive spent fuel. Possibly the saddest part of some of the cancer radiation therapy is what happens to the radioactive substances in that medical equipment once it is taken out of service. Much of it is recycled! Not into radiation equipment, but into consumer products, and stored near residential areas. This was cracked-down on in the US, so it's sent to Mexico and overseas to be recycled (and brought back). The US has shot plenty of bullets and mortars made from "depleted uranium" in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past 20 years. Those shells and bullets are still radioactive, with a half life of about 4.5 billion years for the U-238.

[@joeyr7294]

"Toxic Legacy." Should be what my ex girlfriend's diary was titled!

[@bp420a5]

Best comment of all time!!!!!!

[@joeyr7294]

@@bp420a5 🍻

[@humanipulationnation]

Her behavior or her vagina? 😂

[@joeyr7294]

@@humanipulationnation behavior lmao

[@humanipulationnation]

@@joeyr7294 I’ve had both toxicity issues sadly 🍻

[@kennethvenezia4400]

I watch your channel from time to time. I find it well researched and professionally presented. As a result, it never fails to leave me depressed upon its conclusion. I would like to thank you for your contribution in satisfying my curiosity and hunger for information. Did I mention, I HAVE A CAT?🙀

[@AllDayBikes]

Dammit Simon, I knew the link wasn't going to be there when you said it is. I'll go search for the MOAB myself lmao

[@Volvith]

The age of secrecy hasn't ended. Working in a building supply store, i've met a couple Russian workers who moved out to here. You wouldn't believe the stories they have told, and not the kind of stories that state a city some 200 kilometers away was cleaned of opposition to the government. No, this is 'They took my father and aunt and we never saw them again.' type stuff. Not to mention the many humanitarian atrocities that are still ongoing to this day. Each and every one of them has stories that make it clear that they aren't outliers, or suffered from a rare fate. Their stories cemented the fact that the type of actions portrayed in this video are still very much happening to this day, if not worse. _"Call a pig a cow, and it's still a pig. Paint it white and black, and it's still a pig. Call it Putin, and it's still. a. pig."_

[@jayayerson8819]

"The Nuclear Shield", and, "The Saviours of Humanity". *sarcasms in Russian*

[@davedoes1298]

Speaking of nuclear disasters, I would highly reccomend looking into and making a video of the history of rocky flats.

[@whocareswellushould135]

Very interesting and very new to me. Ty !

[@chrisresnikoff1741]

"A cloud of broken communist dreams" is my new favorite phrase

[@baresurvivor7579]

I would love to see a video on Haida Gwaii and the history of the Haida people. There's just so little official videos on the subject of one of the earliest tribes of North America.

[@dougalexander7204]

The lid blew off in the direction of Pluto. Oh, I see hat you did there. Dig ya, Simon.

[@theaultones5790]

Legend, Happy Blazing Simon 🙏

[@kylekrizizke6115]

I'm honestly surprised it took this long to talk about this.

[@n4sc3ntbrother]

im pretty sure ive seen another video with him talking about it

[@amicloud_yt]

@@n4sc3ntbrother nah, must be thinking of the Aral Sea/Aralsk 7 vids

[@RagedxxKill]

Can you please do Hanford Site! I work as an engineer there and it has a very interesting history.

[@soniacelis672]

Very interesting. Thanks for the information.

[@ejharbet6390]

Half my family live a few miles north of Kazakhstan. All kinds of heath problems

[@sadBanker902]

Can we just name this The Glowing Sea

[@tonybeaumont8289]

Couldn't stop looking at that shaving cut on Simon's forehead lol

[@MisterAndrewBuckley]

Danny's getting a bit frisky

[@tonybeaumont8289]

@@MisterAndrewBuckley... Allegedly

[@bigv6724]

Awe he's finally getting his unicorn horn! Horn? Unispike? The Simon?

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Was he Dollar Shave Club or Harrys? Was being the important bit here.

[@wesleymcglone6937]

Now I can't. Cheers.

[@barrydysert2974]

Utterly fascinating! 🖖

[@christopherjustice6411]

American Scientists: We must be careful with this godlike power we now wield. Soviet Scientists: Hee hee hee, Geiger counter go “Click”

[@thetreblerebel]

It was the mindset of this whole generation that dumping and using rivers and lakes to rid toxic waste was accepted. Leaving the mess and toxicity for future generations to come

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@ChristineCAlb1]

Love these stories on the old Soviet Union. Keep them coming.

[@korlashgaming8313]

WOW, I've never seen so much fuzz on Simmons head. got to hit up dollar shave club!