A Place in Kazakhstan Has Witnessed World's 'Most' Number of Nuclear Explosions, It Even Boasts an 'Atomic Lake'

Nuclear weapons are dangerous devices that, unfortunately, are a necessity for many countries. Nothing about these weapons is easy, from their creation to their consequences. To confirm whether the weapon has been built properly, these devices need testing, and also sites where they can be tested. One of such places was the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (otherwise known as "The Polygon"), stated the LAD Bible. Today, it is considered one of the most nuked places on the planet.

Nuclear weapon testing sites are chosen keeping in mind the environment around the region. Experts usually avoid places that have humans, because radiation from nuclear weapons has lasting effects on people. The Soviet Union supposedly created this test site near the city of Semey (formerly Semipalatinsk) because it could be easily closed off to civilians. However, it was not completely uninhabited, as there were several villages on the outskirts and a city just 100 miles away. The Soviet Union reportedly conducted 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site between 1949 and 1989.

The explosion of nuclear bombs at the site caused many changes, one of which was the 'Atomic Lake,' according to Metro. The lake was a consequence of a hydrogen bomb explosion in 1965. The bomb was reportedly 11 times more powerful than the one that fell on Hiroshima. The explosion's impact created a massive crater in the area, which eventually turned into a water body, which came to be known amongst locals as 'atomic lake.'

The water body's proper name is Lake Chagan. The legacy of the nuclear explosion is still present in its water. As per examinations, the water's radioactivity is 100 times higher than the safe limit. Despite warnings, some people continue to fish in these waters. 

A town located near the 'atomic lake' appeared to have been severely impacted by such blasts, according to Metro. Once boasting a population of more than a million people, Kurchatov now has only a few thousand people. All of them remember the horrors of Cold War nuclear testing. Their testimonies indicate that the civilians did not know much about the possible effects of these bombings. "We didn’t know it was so bad," a local named Nadezhda Golovina shared. "They used to tell us to leave the house in case it collapsed, a window or the door of the stove would open, and ashes would fall out. The chandeliers were swinging." People claim that many locals went on to develop cancer, possibly because of the radiation produced by the bombs. 

Several studies conducted on the region's population indicate that people around this site are more in risk of diseases linked to radiation, according to the LAD Bible. These individuals and their children likely have genetic mutations that make them vulnerable to many more conditions, as per some experts. In total, around 200,000 people were impacted by the nuclear tests at the site. Some conspiracy theorists claim that the number is much higher, and the Soviet Union authorities have kept the real number under wraps.