reform within the russian solid waste sector. nuclear waste specialized transport of nuclear waste by rail in russia. in the concluding months of world war ii, the soviet government designated the islands of novaya zemlya as testing grounds for the development and trial of nuclear weapons. between september 21, 1955, and october 24, 1990, over 130 nuclear detonations were tested on the archipelago, including the detonation of tsar bomba in october 1961 above severny island. however, the soviet government began exclusively conducting underground nuclear tests following andrei gromyko's signing of the partial nuclear test ban treaty on august 5, 1963, in moscow. as a result, the adjacent barents and kara seas were frequently polluted throughout this period with nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel, contributing to a radioactive environment that has threatened the russian and norwegian fishing industries (which rely heavily upon the barents sea) and livelihoods of the surrounding indigenous population. the kara sea has been reported to contain more nuclear waste along its seafloor than any other location across the world's oceans. the long-term effects of nuclear fallout in this region have not been epidemiologically tested as of 2020.