Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast

Ozyorsk or Ozersk () is a closed town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It was founded on the shore of the Irtyash Lake in 1945. Until 1994, it was known as Chelyabinsk-65, and even earlier, as Chelyabinsk-40 (the digits are the last digits of the postal code, and the name is that of the nearest big city; that was a common practice of giving names to closed towns). In 1994, it was granted town status and renamed Ozyorsk. Population: 82,800 (2009 est.);

Economy

Ozyorsk was and remains a closed town because of its proximity to the Mayak plant, one of the sources of Soviet plutonium during the Cold War, and now a Russian facility for processing nuclear waste and recycling nuclear material from decommissioned nuclear weapons.

The plant itself covers an area of approximately 90 km² and employs about 15,000 people.

The Mayak is primarily engaged in reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear submarines and icebreakers and from nuclear power plants. Commercially, it produces cobalt-60, iridium-192, carbon-14 and establishes conversion production with use of radiative technologies applying wasteless technologies.

The town's coat of arms depicts a flame-coloured salamander representing the ecological situation after the 1957 accident.

Southern-Urals Construction Department () is another major enterprise. Its activities include construction for atomic industry needs, production of concrete constructions and construction materials.

Main products of Plant of Wiring...
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