One hour here is a lethal radiation dose.

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]One hour here is a lethal radiation dose. From 1951 until the late 1960s, Soviets used this lake as the radioactive waste dump for the Mayak Production Association.

[00:00:11]Over 120 million curies of radiation were poured directly into the water.

[00:00:16]Standing on the shore for 1 hour delivers 600 roentgen of radiation. That is a fatal [music] dose.

[00:00:22]Just walking by gives you more radiation than a chest x-ray every second.

[00:00:27]Russia filled the entire lake basin with concrete [music] blocks and rocks to contain the contamination.

[00:00:32]Despite this, radiation still leaches through the bedrock into groundwater every single year.