The Atom Project

SIGN ON FOR A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE WORLD

THEATOMPROJECT.ORG

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THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST NUCLEAR TESTS ON AUGUST 29 WAS ESTABLISHED TO COINCIDE WITH THE DATE OF THE CLOSING OF THE SEMIPALATINSK NUCLEAR TEST SITE BY PRESIDENT NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV OF KAZAKHSTAN IN 1991. BETWEEN 1949 AND 1989, THE SOVIET UNION CONDUCTED ALMOST 500 NUCLEAR TESTS AT THIS TEST SITE IN EASTERN KAZAKHSTAN, WHICH ADVERSELY AFFECTED THE HEALTH AND LIVES OF ONE AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE. SINCE 2010, THE INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST NUCLEAR TESTS IS COMMEMORATED GLOBALLY. THEATOMPROJECT.ORG TAP2014_Brochure.indd 2

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There are people in the world who struggle every day with what nuclear

have names and families and stories. Their humanity is evident in

weapons testing has done to their bodies, their minds and their spirits.

their eyes and in their lives. But many are unable to stand up, let their

They do not exist in faded photos of a cold war past. They do not exist

voices be heard and be counted in this world.

in history books or in the imaginations of screen writers. They live all over the world: In the United States. In the Marshall Islands. In

Their parents and grandparents did not know that when they went

Japan. In Russia. And in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, where almost

outside and saw the sky light up with explosions, and the mushroom

500 nuclear test sites were conducted from 1949 to 1991.

cloud hovering over the endless steppe, they were part of a devastating experiment that would affect them, their children and generations to

These survivors of nuclear weapons testing are the living legacy

come.

of The Polygon, the Soviet-era Nuclear Weapons Testing Site in Semipalatinsk — they are the human evidence of the damage caused

If you knew today, that someday your grandchildren would suffer the

by radioactive nuclear fallout. Some are children who cannot speak

effects of nuclear radiation due to nuclear weapons testing or as the

out for themselves due to disabilities and illness. Some are young

result of nuclear terrorism, wouldn’t you try to stop it?

adults who, although challenged with physical and developmental

NOW YOU KNOW.

limitations, still want to enjoy all the things any young person loves to do. Some are adults who have overcome overwhelming odds to carve out their niche in life. So far, three generations of people from Semey, as Semipalatinsk is known today, have suffered from cancer, severe deformities and illness caused by radioactive nuclear fallout. Most residents of Semey do not live past 60 years of age. These survivors

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UNITED WE COUNT The ATOM Project is an international initiative to build global

about the medical and environmental costs of nuclear weapons

support for a permanent end to nuclear weapons testing ultimately

production, testing and deployment. The ATOM Project ONLINE

leading to the total abolition of nuclear weapons. The ATOM Project

PETITION is the vehicle through which people can take concrete

was launched at a parliamentary assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan

action to end all nuclear weapons testing and abolish nuclear

on August 29, 2012, the UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests.

weapons. With just one click, citizens of the world can sign the international ATOM Project petition, uniting their voices to send the

Organizers of the Project recognize that in recent decades the

world’s leaders a clear message: Abolish nuclear weapons testing

cause of abolishing nuclear weapons and weapons testing, and

and nuclear weapons, forever.

the awareness of the fundamental dangers they pose to life on the planet have become superseded by other humanitarian and

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

environmental issues. Arguably, however, abolishing nuclear

The Petition, which exists online at www.TheATOMProject.org,

weapons is the biggest environmental and humanitarian cause of all.

has garnered international support and attention. Individuals from more than 100 countries have signed on for a nuclear-weapons-

The time has come to revive among governments and people

free world, and when the petition reaches a critical mass it will be

around the world an awareness of how dangerous and appalling

presented to leaders of the world’s nuclear states. When the people

the consequences of the testing, retention and proliferation of

of the world speak together, when we stand united, the seeds of

nuclear arsenals has been, and of the threats that their continued

change take root and our political leaders are forced into action.

possession poses to the human race, particularly after the largest

History has borne this out. The non-violence movement started by

ever terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011.

Mahatma Gandhi, the end of apartheid led by Nelson Mandela and

To that end, The ATOM Project seeks to share documented reports

the civil rights movement championed by Martin Luther King Jr. all

of scientists, doctors and nuclear experts from around the world

prove that sea change is not only necessary, it is possible. And while

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there is strength in every one of us, so too, is there an even bigger strength in numbers.

The ATOM Project will bring attention to the plight of as many as 15 million victims of radiation poisoning that are estimated to be suffering today in countries such as Kazakhstan, the Marshall Islands, Japan, Algeria and others. And then, we will multiply hope, one click at a time.

Increasing global awareness about the threat of already existing nuclear weapons arsenals and promoting an international petition that will enable people around the world to directly express their position on the nuclear disarmament issue are primary goals of the Project. The ATOM Project believes strong public support for the Project will translate to strong public support for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), parliamentarians and activists in order to help them reach their goal of influencing the leaders of major nations to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world

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“FROM DAY TO DAY, THE RADIATION POISONED OUR STEPPES, RIVERS AND LAKES, SLOWLY KILLING ALL LIFE IN THE AREA. THIS NUCLEAR EVIL DESTROYED THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN THE VICINITY OF THE TEST SITE. THE EFFECTS OF THE NUCLEAR TESTS ARE BEING FELT TO THIS DAY.” NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV, PRESIDENT OF KAZAKHSTAN

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“MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE HAVE DIED FROM THE RADIATION FROM THE NUCLEAR TESTS. IN ONE FAMILY, FIRST THE FATHER, THEN THE MOTHER THEN ALL THE CHILDREN PASSED AWAY — THE WHOLE FAMILY OF 10. I MYSELF HAVE NO ARMS TO HUG YOU, BUT I HAVE A HEART AS BIG AS THE OPEN SPACE OF KAZAKHSTAN READY TO EMBRACE THE WORLD FOR PEACE AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT.” KARIPBEK KUYUKOV, HONORARY ATOM PROJECT AMBASSADOR, ARTIST AND SECOND GENERATION SURVIVOR OF SOVIET NUCLEAR TESTS IN KAZAKHSTAN

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MOMENTS OF TRUTH AND LIGHT: SURVIVOR STORIES FROM THE SEMIPALATINISK TEST SITE The children who were born deformed to the inhabitants of Eastern

Semipalatinsk — they are the human evidence of the damage

Kazakhstan who lived within the fallout region during the 40 years

caused by radioactive nuclear fallout. Some are children who

of Soviet nuclear testing bear eloquent witness to the horrific human

cannot speak out for themselves due to disabilities and illness.

reality of suffering resulting from weapons testing.

Some are young adults who, although challenged with physical and developmental limitations, still want to enjoy all the things any

Trapped in a body of a three-year-old, 13-year-old Valikhan

young person loves to do. Some are adults who have overcome

Serikkaliev suffers from osteogenisis imperfecta leaving him unable

overwhelming odds to carve out their niche in life.

to walk and with severe bone deformity and abnormally small stature. His condition is incurable.

So far, three generations of people from Semey, as Semipalatinsk is known today, have suffered from cancer, severe deformities

Dina Batyrova’s illness is also a tragic example of the damage that

and illness caused by radioactive nuclear fallout. Most residents

nuclear weapons testing can cause. Dina is five years old and

of Semey do not live past 60 years of age. These survivors have

suffers from hydranencephaly, a condition in which the cerebral

names and families and stories. Their humanity is evident in their

hemispheres are absent and replaced by sacs filled with fluid.

eyes and in their lives. But many are unable to stand up, let their

Because Dina’s head is nearly the size of her body, she must lie

voices be heard and be counted in this world.

down at all times. But Dina is conscious and aware. She smiles and often tries to wave when she sees other people.

Their parents and grandparents did not know that when they went outside and saw the sky light up with explosions and the mushroom

Five-year-old Rustam Zhanabayev lives in a foster home. His

cloud hovering over the endless steppe, that they were part of a

genetic deformities were so severe that he was abandoned at birth

devastating experiment that would affect them, their children and

by his parents. He was diagnosed with malfunction of the brain and

generations to come.

hydranencephaly at the stage of decompensation. He will spend his life in a wheelchair and is unable to move his head because it is too

Today, they are united in their desire to see a permanent end to

heavy for his body.

nuclear weapons testing and the abolition of all nuclear weapons.

You can join with these survivors and be counted as we unite to

These survivors of nuclear weapons testing are the living legacy of

put an end to nuclear weapons testing and make the world nuclear

The Polygon, the Soviet-era Nuclear Weapons Test Site in

weapons free.

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WHOLE FAMILIES SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF NUCLEAR RADIATION THEY WERE UNWITTINGLY EXPOSED TO DURING THE TESTING AT SEMIPALATINSK.

Abylai Berikov is a music student at Mukan Tleubayev Musical College in Semey, Kazakhstan. He is also a victim of nuclear weapons testing. “I heard about the tests from my parents, saw it on TV and read about it on the Internet. Myself, I am the evidence of the consequences of harm these test cause to human health. I suffer from congenial kyphoscoliosis, or severe curvature of the spine. It’s painful to walk, to even move a little bit. But the strongest pain I feel is when I see peoples’ looks.

Once there was a group of young people

Indira Nizamiyeva, b. 1967

who were looking at me and laughing at

Beskaragai District, Semey Region,

me — that was one of the most painful

Eastern Kazakhstan

things in my life. I want to be perceived as a normal member of a community. I practice

Indira was born with various bone issues.

music and I want others to see not only the

She spends most of her time in the hospital,

imperfection of my body, but the beauty

trying to find the best treatment for her

of my soul as well. My aim is to learn as

medical issues. While she believes that the

much as possible, so as to distract from the

tests “must have been needed for science,” she knows the results of the nuclear testing were tragic.

Gulnara Kynasheva, b. 1965 Akhsuat Village, Abai Region, Semey, Eastern Kazakhstan Gulnara’s health has been badly affected by exposure to nuclear radiation, a consequence of nuclear weapons testing.

She suffers from goiter, as well as chronic bronchitis. Gunara’s two sons also suffer from the effects of nuclear radiation. Her oldest son has severe vision problems and her younger son was born with intracranial pressure. So far, three generations of

sickness. I will compose my songs, play my musical instruments and hope that nowhere else on earth will such test sites exist — so people will never again suffer from the disastrous power of these weapons.”

“I PRACTICE MUSIC AND I WANT OTHERS TO SEE NOT ONLY THE IMPERFECTION OF MY BODY, BUT THE BEAUTY OF MY SOUL.”

Semey residents have lived with the effects of the testing that was carried out from 1949 to 1991 in the region.

Dulat Kulshymanov, b. 1984 Karauyl Village, Abai District, Semey Region, Eastern Kazakhstan Twenty-seven-year-old Dulat suffers from congenial kyphoscoliosis or severe curvature of the spine. Dulat says he often ponders what life would be like if he were “like everyone else,” but despite the challenges he faces each day, Dulat has Nurly Ardakkyzy, b. 1999

dedicated himself to learning new things

Karaul Village, Abai Region, Semey,

and adapting his daily life to overcome even the most difficult obstacles. He has even learned to ride a bicycle.

Abylai Berikov, b. 1994 Kundizdi Village, Abai District, Semey Region, Eastern Kazakhstan

Eastern Kazakhstan Nurly is a beautiful young girl with shining eyes. Nurly is calm and poised — and she

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is talented. She likes to sing and dance

of the test site for haymaking. The grass

with her friends. Nurly is also a victim of

was burned, we found twisted railways and

nuclear weapons testing who has Pitofizor

damage. Until 1992, I worked in this area.

dwarfism. For Nurly, that means that

Once my compatriots told me they saw

although she is 13 years old, she appears

something on the side of the mountains.

to be about seven years of age. Her growth

When we went there to check it, we saw

and development have been stunted, and

tanks, cars, etc., which I believe were put

she is currently in the second grade, many

there to test how they would sustain a burst

grades below her peers. Nurly lives with,

wave.”

and is being raised by, her grandparents who work hard to provide her with a good education, warmth and love.

THIRTEEN YEAR OLD NURLY LIKES TO SING AND DANCE WITH HER FRIENDS, IN SPITE OF THE CHALLENGES SHE FACES.

“I WANT PEOPLE TO LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY.”

SEMEY ORPHANAGE Symbat Abdikarimova, Director Symbat has worked at the Semey Orphanage for 13 years. She sees first-

Amangali and his friends didn’t realize at

hand, every day, the damage that nuclear

the time what they were witnessing. They

weapons testing can do. She sees it in the

had no way of knowing about the threat to

faces and bodies of the children she cares

their health. “Today, I can feel myself how

for.

it all affected my health,” says Amangali.

“I have been in the hospital already for

She believes that the children from this

five months. Doctors said that I have

region will experience health problems

spots in my lungs. All this is connected

caused by nuclear weapons testing

with my exposure to radiation. I wish for

for many generations due to the gene

future generations to be healthy and for

mutations caused by the nuclear fallout.

sicknesses not to be transmitted further

There are 80 children in the orphanage

to our children and grandchildren. I want

suffering from various pathologies,

people to live in peace and harmony.”

deformities and disabilities. The etymologies of their medical issues sometimes cannot be defined clearly, but Symbat has seen enough to believe that these problems were ultimately caused by exposure to nuclear radiation and the resulting genetic mutations that have been passed down through generations.

Amangali Musagaliuly, b. 1942 Arkhat Village, Abai District, Semey Region, Eastern Kazakhstan Amangali was just a young boy during the weapons testing in Eastern Kazakhstan, but he recalls those days with extreme clarity and raw emotion. “In August 1953, it was announced that we were to be moved due to nuclear weapons tests. Right on the next day we packed our belongings and were taken 50 kilometers away from our village. I was only a little boy and it was of great interest to me. I witnessed the explosions myself. When tests were held, the sky turned red and we saw a nuclear

THE SURVIVORS OF THE POLYGON HAVE NOW SHARED THEIR STORIES WITH THE WORLD. TELL THEM YOU HEAR THEIR WISHES FOR PEACE, YOU KNOW THEIR PRAYERS FOR HOPE, AND YOU BELIEVE IN A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE WORLD TODAY— AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

mushroom. The next day, we went back in our homes. We were told that the tests had ended. In 1970, we were sent to the area

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SIGN ON TODAY FOR A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE WORLD AT THEATOMPROJECT.ORG

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THE GLOBAL NUCLEAR

TIMELINE

1934 - Leó Szilárd patents concept of nuclear chain reaction.

1939 - January - Otto Robert Frisch

confirms Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman’s discovery of nuclear fission.

1940 - April - Military Application

of Uranium Detonation Committee investigates feasibility of an atomic bomb.

1941 - February - Plutonium discovered.

1942 - August-November - The Manhattan Project established.

1945 - July - The first nuclear explosion, the Trinity test, occurs near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

1945 - August 6 - “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

1945 - August 9 - “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

1949 - August - The Soviet Union conducts its first atomic test, First Lightning.

1949 - The Soviet nuclear weapons

program chose a test site outside the Kazakhstan city of Semipalatinsk. From 1949 until 1989, 456 nuclear weapons tests were conducted at the site.

1951 - China and the Soviet Union sign an agreement whereby China would supply uranium ore in exchange for assistance producing nuclear weapons.

1952 - October - The United Kingdom

conducts Operation Hurricane, the first test of a British nuclear weapon, detonated in a lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia.

1953 - The first nuclear-tipped rockets deployed by the United States.

1953 - August - The Soviet Union conducts its first test of a hydrogen bomb.

1954 - February - The United States

detonates its first deliverable thermonuclear weapon at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, leading to the worst radiological disaster in U.S. history.

1956 - The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission is established.

1957 - July - The International Atomic Energy Agency is founded.

1960

- February - France successfully tests a nuclear weapon, in the French Sahara.

1961 - October - The Soviet Union

detonates Tsar Bomba, the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

1964 - October - China successfully tests an atomic bomb at Lop Nur.

1965

- January - The Soviet Union detonates Chagan.

1967 - June - China successfully tests a hydrogen bomb.

1968 - July - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signatures. This treaty is intended to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. To date, 189 countries have signed the treaty, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Only India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed the treaty (as sovereign states).

1974 - May - India tests its first nuclear

device, “Smiling Buddha”, at Pokhran.

1952 - November - The United States test the first fusion bomb, “Ivy Mike”.

1991 - August - President Nursultan

Nazarbayev of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic shuts down the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, where 42 years earlier the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test. Four months later, the Soviet Union collapses.

1991 - December - Kazakhstan and the

U.S. establish full diplomatic relations. The fate of the nuclear arsenal in Kazakhstan is a top priority for both countries.

1991 - The Soviet Union ceases to exist.

Kazakhstan inherits the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal.

1992 - May - Kazakhstan signs Lisbon

Protocol to the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START I Treaty), renouncing possession of nuclear weapons and accepting responsibility for ensuring nuclear nonproliferation.

1992 - July - Kazakhstan’s Parliament ratifies START I Treaty.

1993 - December - Kazakhstan’s

Parliament ratifies the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

1993 - President Nursultan Nazarbayev

and U.S. Vice President Albert Gore sign the Framework Agreement, opening the way for implementation of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (Nunn-Lugar program) in Kazakhstan.

1994 – November - 581 kg of highly-

enriched uranium, enough to produce 20-25 nuclear warheads, are moved to the United States from the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan under Project Sapphire, a Kazakhstan-U.S. secret operation.

1991 - South Africa signs the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty.

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“I BELIEVE IT IS SAFE TO CLAIM THAT THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF NUCLEAR TESTS IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 2 MILLION AND 6 MILLION DEATHS, AND UP TO 20 MILLION PEOPLE WITH SEVERE HEALTH IMPACTS, INCLUDING CANCERS (SOME OF WHICH ARE TREATABLE, BUT CAN REDUCE QUALITY OF LIFE) AND BIRTH DEFECTS.” ALYN WARE, GLOBAL COORDINATOR, PARLAMENTARIANS FOR NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION & DISARMAMENT

1995 - May - The last nuclear device is

destroyed at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan through a conventional explosion.

1998 - May - India tests five more nuclear

weapons as part of Operation Shakti at the Pokhran test site.

1998 - May - Pakistan detonates five highlyenriched uranium nuclear weapons in the Chagai Hills.

2006 - May - Kazakhstan and the U.S. sign

an agreement under the Second Line of Defense programme calling for greater cooperation in preventing illicit trafficking of nuclear materials.

of the founding members of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism announced by Russia and the U.S.

experts announce the completion of a multi-year project to permamently seal dozens of test tunnels at the former Semipalatinsk test site, securing hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium left there as residue from the dozens of underground nuclear weapon tests, thus ensuring the permanent safety of these materials.

2006 - October - North Korea tests a

2013 - The ATOM Project holds events and

2006 - July - Kazakhstan becomes one

nuclear weapon for the first time.

1999 - September - The Tokyo Conference on Semipalatinsk is held resulting in a decision to implement 38 rehabilitation projects in the Semipalatinsk region.

2007 - July - Astana hosts the 3rd meeting

2000 - July - The last test tunnel (out of

2009 -December 2 - The United Nations

181 tunnels and 13 unused test holes) is destroyed at the Degelen Mountain complex at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.

2002 - January - A joint Kazakhstan-

U.S. project--a public-private sector partnership-- starts separating low-enriched uranium from uranium concentrate.

2002 - February - The joint project begins

to securely transport fresh highly-enriched uranium fuel from the BN-350 reactor to blend it down at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant.

of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.

General Assembly unanimously passes the resolution proclaiming August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

2012 - January 1 - The International Atomic Energy Agency approves Kazakhstan to host the world’s first international nuclear fuel bank at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk in eastern Kazakhstan.

2012 - March 26-27 - At the 2nd Global

several nuclear explosives.

Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and Barack Obama of the United States announce the completion of all major work to ensure the safety of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

2005 - September - Kazakhstan accedes

2012 - August 28-30 - The conference

2003 - North Korea announces that it has

to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

2005 - December - The U.N. General

Assembly unanimously adopts a resolution calling upon the international community to continue to support the rehabilitation of the Semipalatinsk region and its population.

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2012 - October - Kazakh, U.S. and Russian

“From a Nuclear Test Ban to a NuclearWeapons-Free World” takes place in Astana and Semey.

symposia throughout the year under the theme “Looking for Peace” in Moscow, New York, Washington, DC, Tokyo and Berlin. On August 29, the ATOM Project stages a global Minute of Silence to commemorate all the victims of the nuclear tests conducted around the world.

2013 - November - The Inter-Parliamentary

Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan hold an international conference “Nuclear Security in the Modern World. Role of Parliamentarians in Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation in Saing Petersburg, Russia, where The ATOM Project receives a strong endorsement.

2014 - February - The ATOM Project

is presented at an event in the U.S. Senate in Washington, DC, urging the lawmakers to support the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

2014 - March - More than 50 heads

of state and goverment and leaders of international organizations gather in The Hague for the 3rd Global Nuclear Security Summit, pledging to enhance cooperation in ensuring the security of their nuclear materials.

2012 - August 29 - President Nursultan

Nazarbayev launches The ATOM Project, a global petition campaign for a nuclearweapons- free world.

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SIGN ON FOR A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE WORLD

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