Kazakhstan. Semipalatinsk. Berik Syzdykov suffers from a face cancer. He was born in 1979 in the village of Znamenka, near the Semipalatinsk Polygon ( called today National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan). Berik Syzdykov is a second (or third) generation victim of the 456 atomic testing - 116 atmospheric, 340 underground - from 1949 to 1989. The regions high frequency of cancers is primarily due to fallout from nearby nuclear test sites. Berik Syzdykov's face shows the human and environmental effects of nuclear radiation, contamination and pollution from atomic tests programs of the former Soviet Union. Semey is the Kazakh name for Semipalatinsk and is located in the Eastern Kazakhstan Province. © 2008 Didier Ruef