In the third chapter, he arrives at shores of Lake Karachay (in Kyshtym in the former USSR). There, so much nuclear waste had been dumped over the past fifty years that if one stood by the shore for "one hour", the exposure to radiation would be such that death from physical injuries would inevitably occur within "two weeks". Concrete blocks have been placed in the lake, falling to the bottom to help compress sediments down and prevent them from shifting. Still it would take tens of thousands of years for the deleterious effects of the radiation to subside. Unfortunately, after ten years, the concrete had already begun to crack and split open. The water in the lake has been decreasing steadily over the years and will eventually leave a dry lake bed. In addition, the lake connects to many underground rivers that go out to sea.