Mayor: Shut down my toxic town

The mayor of Chapayevsk, in south west Russia, has called for his town to be shut down because of toxic weapons waste.

Nikolai Malakhov is requesting that the Russian government resettles the 70,000 residents of Chapayevsk.

The town, founded in 1927, used to house four Soviet arms factories producing chemical weapons as well as other toxic munitions.

Its residents now have cancer and tuberculosis rates three times the regional average. The mayor lays the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of the toxic waste from the factories.

However, the Russian government has attempted to address the problem in the past. Only last year, Natural Resources Minister Alexander Fyodorov told the local government in Chapayevsk to look on the bright side.

Fyodorov added that by projecting an “aura of well-being” the town would be more likely to attract investment.