Kurchatov is located on the south bank of the Irtysh River, which crosses into Kazakhstan from the autonomous region of Xinjiang in China approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the southeast.

One village, located in the radius of three underground atomic test bomb craters, was deemed to belong to a “minimal risk category” and residents are entitled to a one-time, lump-sum payment equalling about $50.

[4] People in the Kurchatov region experience a variety of adverse health effects, though this has not been definitively linked to the radiation exposure due the “toxic layering” of numerous factors, such as inadequate nutrition, poor water quality, and unsanitary living conditions.

As a result of the secrecy surrounding the Soviet atomic project, researchers were prevented from discussing radiation exposure and conducting public safety risk assessments.

in 2006 concluded that lose-dose radiation and illness cannot be clearly linked, and despite the possible dangers, there is no evidence that exposure to it causes disorders like birth defects, chromosomal aberrations, or any other cellular abnormalities among adult populations.