Karachay, The Concrete Lake

Raising Cold War tensions, founded the Mayak combine
In quest for nuclear power reactors brought on line

In secrecy, fully operational as planned
But accidents, disasters came to pass
and it soon got out of hand
In a godforsaken land

A lake in a shell
Of soil and concrete sealed
Poisonous dust in the wind
Above the toxic field

A lake in a shell
Of soil and concrete sealed
Groundwater tainted
Beneath the toxic field

Waste disposal strategies never proven to be profound,
Geiger counters ticking nervously all around

And so the lake Karachay became a dumping ground for waste
Engineers never cared to handle it properly in their haste
The whole land defaced

A lake in a shell
Of soil and concrete sealed
A lethal dose of radiation
Within an hour out in the field

A lake in a shell
Of soil and concrete sealed
The most polluted spot on Earth,
For many decades concealed