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