About: Pollution of Lake Karachay

Lake Karachay, located in the southern Ural Mountains in eastern Russia, was a dumping ground for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapon facilities. It was also affected by a string of accidents and disasters causing the surrounding areas to be highly contaminated with radioactive waste. Although the lake has an area much smaller than that of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and although three settlements, Ozyorsk, and some 7 kilometers away are inhabited, and the lake is surrounded by Mayak, the lake is still technically a natural area. It has been described as the "most polluted spot on Earth" by the Worldwatch Institute.