Santa Susana Field Laboratory, USA

One of the most dangerous radioactive areas in the United States is the territory of the Santa Susanna laboratory. The lab occupies more than 1 000 hectares. It embraces a range of industrial and academic buildings, which for many years were used for creating and testing rocket engines. The laboratory belongs to NASA. Since its foundation, the main purpose was to create the most powerful space engine running on a liquid fuel.

A few decades ago, secret tests of nuclear reactors were conducted in this laboratory. Statistically, 4 of 10 such trials ended with a major nuclear accident. The laboratory was founded in 1947. Since then, it has been used for various purposes. In addition to space engines, nuclear weapons were produced and tested there. Projects of nuclear power plants were developed too. Over the years, the laboratory not only performed dozens of different tests, many of which ended with an accident, but incorrectly disposed the nuclear waste.

All this time, thousands of people, including scientists and industrialists with their families, were living in the territory of the laboratory. Everything that happened in the test area was kept in the strictest secrecy. Only ten years later, horrific details about the environmental situation in the region became known. Regularly dozens of employees died there. The main cause of death was cancer. The area of the laboratory is officially recognized a unique natural landmark, as ancient caves with preserved petroglyphs have been found there. Next - Fort d'Aubervilliers