The Russian disease.

Children do not thrive in the Altai region of the former Soviet Union, on the borders of Russia and Khazakstan. Assignment attempts to identify the reasons for a generation of unhealthy children. The area has a history of nuclear weapons testing as well as being the location of one of Russia's busiest cosmodromes, and is littered with military debris. The programme makes a detailed investigation of the toxic pollution caused by weapons and space technology. However, it also finds alcholoism, a high smoking rate, a poor diet and a dramatic decline in the life expectancy of adults. An impoverished health service has little to offer. The area's problems are overwhelming, and there are no reasources with which to identify and tackle the reasons for the population's malaise.