Struan Stevenson, a Scottish Conservative Member of the European Union has spent a lot of his career trying to bring public attention to the tragedies surrounding Semipalatinsk. During the Soviet period, the “Polygon” an area near this city was the testing-ground for nuclear weapons. As a result, the population still suffers from cancer, birth defects and other serious health issues. Recently, his book Crying Forever was released in Almaty. It is an excellent, if extremely disturbing read about the issue. The pictures certainly lay to rest any doubts about the severity of exposure to radiation.

In 2004, his essay of the same name won the Power of Purpose award, and you can download that essay here.

Amazon.com lists the book as unavailable, but hopefully you can find a copy near you.