A screening assessment of external radiation levels on the shore of Lake Iisyk-Kyol in the Kyrghyz Republic

The Kyrghyz Republic, located in the southeastern region of the former Soviet Union, holds a long history of atomic weapons development activities. Historical surveys, conducted primarily for geological exploration, have indicated that areas of shoreline on Lake Issyk-Kyol in the Kyrghyz Republic have relative radiation levels in excess of background by as much as a factor of ten. Nuclear testing in China and uranium mining operations in the mountains surrounding the lake may have resulted in the contamination of a number of areas on the lake's southern shore. The valley region maintains a population of more than one-half-million persons and is heavily dependent on the lake to draw tourists to the area and its utilization by some as a food and recreation source. In this note, we show the results of a screening assessment of relative radiation levels along the shoreline of Lake Issyk-Kyol to pin-point areas of relatively high exposure rates.