The Polygon

The Polygon not only has a fascinating, enigmatic nickname, but also a horrific, risky past. The Soviet Union's nuclear weapons program conducted testing at the Polygon, an area in Kazakhstan that is 18,500 square kilometers in size.

The Soviet Union tested 110 nuclear weapons above ground in this region between 1949 and 1963. Even if that seems horrible, it gets worse when you consider that this was a populous region. According to officials in Kazakhstan, the area's 1.5 million residents were exposed to fallout. Moreover, the underground testing, which went on until 1989, is not included in this.

Research on the health of those who resided in the region throughout the tests, as well as their offspring and grandkids, has revealed cancer pattern and some early indications that cardiovascular health may deteriorate and be genetically handed down.

A nuclear bomb dropped during at least one test at the Polygon in 1953 that was 25 times more potent than the one that went down at Hiroshima. No locals were informed that the tests were taking place or ordered to leave to avoid exposure. Moscow officials withdrew medical data from the region when Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union.