Lake Karachay The lake accumulated some 4.44 exabecquerels (EBq) of radioactivity over less than one square mile of water, including 3.6 EBq of caesium-137 and 0.74 EBq of strontium-90. For comparison, the Chernobyl disaster released 0.085 EBq of caesium-137, a much smaller amount and over thousands of square miles. (The total Chernobyl release is estimated between 5 to 12 EBq of radioactivity, however essentially only caesium-134/137 [and to a lesser extent, strontium-90] contribute to land contamination because the rest is too short-lived). The sediment of the lake bed is estimated to be composed almost entirely of high level radioactive waste deposits to
Caesium chloride container which is then enclosed into another steel casing. The sealing is required to protect the salt from moisture. In the laboratory, CsCl can be obtained by treating caesium hydroxide, carbonate, caesium bicarbonate, or caesium sulfide with hydrochloric acid: Caesium chloride is the main precursor to caesium metal by high temperature reduction: A similar reaction – heating CsCl with calcium in vacuum in presence of phosphorus – was first reported in 1905 by the French chemist M. L. Hackspill and is still used industrially. Caesium hydroxide is obtained by electrolysis of aqueous caesium chloride solution: Caesium chloride is widely used