Kazakhstan plans Semipalatinsk victim recount

    Kazakhstan plans to re-count the number of citizens who have suffered from health problems connected with Soviet-era nuclear testing in Semipalatinsk, Tengri News reported September 9, quoting the Scientific Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology in Semei.
    Up until now, Kazakhstan has not known the exact number of victims, the institute said. In accordance with an August 2 order by the health minister, it plans to compile a listing of all citizens who lived and performed military service in Eastern Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and Karaganda oblasts in 1949-1990.
    Victims are supposed to register at healthcare institutions, which will forward the information to the institute. The project should be completed by July 1, 2013. Seventy-five to 80% of the survivors live in Eastern Kazakhstan Oblast, the institute estimates, Central Asia Online said.