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that the amount of anthropogAnic radioactivity In tha Former 

 Soviet Union is greater than a billion curies. Some of these 

 reports claim that such contamination levels are resulting in 

 shorter life-spans for many of the Former soviet Union citizens. 

 Reports also note that the duration of human life in several 

 parts of the Former Soviet union does not exceed 50 years. 



Although the claims of these contamination levels and their 

 spatial extent need to be verified, as well as the contamination 

 measurement methodology and other laboratory techniques used, the 

 numbers that have been reported for radioactivity and other 

 contaminant levels provide cause for concern from the standpoint 

 of ecological and human health. Furthermore, such concern is 

 trans-boundary in nature because such contaminants do not respect 

 political or national boundaries. However, in putting such 

 concerns into perspective, it is important not to overreact and 

 waste resources; it is imperative that an assessment of the 

 problem be pursued in a phased manner that is interdisciplinary 

 in nature and coordinated with the other Arctic-rim countries. 

 Such an assessment should include tha definition of: 



* Existing pertinent information; 



* Sources of Former Soviet Union radionuclides and othe.- 

 toxins directly introduced to the Russian Arctic or 

 transported to the Arctic via ocean, river, and 

 atmospheric transport and through precipitation; 



