1.5 mln suffered from Semipalatinsk nuclear tests, President

TANA. October 12. KAZINFORM /Muratbek Makulbekov/ "Above one and a half million people have suffered from the Semipalatinsk nuclear tests," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told opening the international conference "For a Nuclear Weapons Free World" in Astana today.

"20 years ago we were the first to shut down the nuclear proving ground in Kazakhstan. For the four decades of nuclear tests above 450 explosions were conducted at the Semipalatinsk range. The total yield of nuclear explosions could destroy then 2500 Hiroshima cities. Radiation affected above 300 000 square kilometers of territory, equal almost to the territory of Germany. Above one and a half million people have suffered from the nuclear tests," the President stressed.