| Summary: | The end of the Cold War allows a comprehensive assessment of the nature and extent of the residual contamination derivative from the atomic defense and nuclear power enterprise in the former Soviet Union. The size of the problem is considerable; some 6.3 x 10{sup 7} TBq (6.4 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}) of radioactive waste from the Soviet Union weapons and power complex was produced throughout all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle. The resulting contamination occurs at sites throughout the former Soviet Union where nuclear fuels were mined, milled, enriched, fabricated, and used in defense and power reactors. In addition, liquid radioactive wastes from nuclear reprocessing have been discharged to lakes, rivers, reservoirs and other surface impoundments; military and civilian naval reactor effluents were released to sea as well as stabilized on land. Finally, nuclear testing residuals from atmospheric and underground nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk and Novaya Zemlya test sites and peaceful nuclear tests conducted throughout the area of the former Soviet Union pose risks to human health and the environment. Through a program of international scientific exchange, cooperative approaches to address these threats provide former Soviet scientists with expertise and technologies developed in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to design comprehensive and long term remedial solutions. The role of the international community to address these challenges is essential because the emerging states of the former Soviet Union share common nuclear residuals that cross newly established national borders. In addition, the widespread post-Soviet radioactive contamination hampers economic recovery and--in some cases--poses proliferation concerns. Also important is the widespread perception throughout these countries that the Soviet nuclear legacy poses a grave threat to the human population. A new paradigm of ''national security'' encompasses more than the historical activities of nuclear weapon production, testing, and deterrence and now includes the environment, human and economic health, and the proliferation of weapons-of-mass destruction. For these reasons the fall of the Soviet Union provides a new imperative and opportunity for systematic, comprehensive and interdisciplinary international efforts to begin to solve these important environmental problems. The environmental degradation from nuclear contamination affecting states of the former Soviet Union is a large topic, and a full description is outside the scope of this paper. A comprehensive overview of environmental concerns and radioactive waste production, inventories, and impacted sites is provided by others. Portions of the summaries provided here are drawn from these works.
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