The Polygon Semipalatinsk Test Site is a radio active site located about 150 km from Semey Kazakhstan. Over 400 nuclear tests took place in the Polygon by the USSR. The area of 18,000 km square km is frequently grazed by area shepherds and cattle-herders. Soil pollutants make their way into the grasses that in turn are eaten by the animals. These herders live near an atomic lake which was made during the 1970s as part of an experiment by the USSR to create lakes from atomic bombs.

During the 1960s the USSR began irrigating the waters of the Aral Sea in southern Kazakhstan to combat their growing food crisis. The Soviets severely miscalculated and water began receding quickly from the port cities. The waters continued to recede. By 2000 the water was 80 km away from the city of Aralsk, a main seaport in Kazakhstan. In 2005 with help from the World Bank, construction began on a 13km dike that locals hoped would bring the waters back to their original shores. The project raised water quality and fishing was able to resume, however four years after completion of the dike the water is still 50km from Aralsk's port. Locals seem mixed on the possibility of the sea returning after more than 40 years without the sea. Fishermen from Aralsk make a three-hour path through soft desert road along the former seabed. The only source of income for many is cattle, horses, and camels, which have began to overgraze the areas of the former seabed and surrounding desert. Because of this nutrient rich topsoil is lifted by the wind and the process of desertification continues.