The alleged Kyshtym disaster has been an intriguing intelligence puzzle for almost
25 years. Zhores Medvedev, a Soviet dissident, has written numerous journal articles
as well as two books on the subject. He has argued that a vast contaminated area exists
east of the city of Kyshtym in the southern Ural Mountains. Further, he has alleged
that a nuclear waste disposal accident in 1957 to 1958 caused the contamination. The
authors of this report are in partial disagreement with Medvedev's first allegation
and in complete disagreement with his second. A contaminated area does exist east
of Kyshtym, but Soviet carelessness coupled with general disregard for the citizenry
and the environment are the prime causative factors, not a nuclear waste accident
