[citation needed] From October 2005 until December 2006, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed in Krasnokamensk on his conviction for tax evasion and fraud.

[14] In 1996, it was reported that over the previous 17 years, 10 km of stream bed had been contaminated with radiation levels of 170 microroentgen/hr, 10 times the world-wide average.

[17][18] Molybdenum is also mined in the town's vicinity, with associated chemical plants producing sulfuric acid and lubricants.

[citation needed] According to the Blacksmith Institute, Krasnokamensk has generated fifty to seventy-five million tons of tailings, making it the largest waste stream at a uranium production site in the world.

[19] In recent years, the dangerously high levels of radioactivity led to evacuation and resettlement of residents living near the tailing dumps.