Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation Print subscriptions Search jobs Europe edition Australia edition International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian Show moreHide expanded menu View all News Climate crisis Environment Global development View all Opinion The Guardian view Opinion videos View all Sport Rugby union View all Culture Art & design View all Lifestyle Health & fitness Home & garden Search input google-search Print subscriptions Search jobs Digital Archive Guardian Licensing The Guardian app Newsletters Today's paper Inside the Guardian The Observer Guardian Weekly Corrections Search input google-search Search jobs Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Middle East Global development Nuclear waste Atomic Secrets: a Chornobyl scientist warns of a toxic future Dmitry Kalmykov is a Ukrainian scientist who has dedicated his life to investigating environmental disasters, first at Chornobyl and now in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan - formerly the Soviet Union's primary nuclear weapons testing site. He teaches schoolchildren about how bombs were tested, and how – more than 30 years after the site was decommissioned – the surrounding community is only beginning to comprehend radiation's lasting deadly effects. Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and the long shadow of a nuclear conflict across the region, Dmitry debates Kazakhstan's nuclear future with its next generation Zhanana Kurmasheva, Banu Ramazanova, Lindsay Poulton Jess GormleyTue 15 Apr 2025 11.40 CESTLast modified on Tue 15 Apr 2025 11.51 CEST Explore more on these topics Nuclear waste Nuclear weapons Most viewed Most viewed Middle East Global development Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morningSign up for our email Complaints & corrections Work for us Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms & conditions All writers Digital newspaper archive Tax strategy Newsletters Advertise with us Search UK jobs Back to top © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)