she was mobilized by the communist party to build the nuclear plant in maiak. this is my father.8 at a technical school. -- a student of technical school. he was mobilized by the comsomols to liquidate the consequences of the nuclear accident of 1957 at maiak place. reporter: nadejda's grandmother and father died of cancer -- according to scientists, as a result of the accident. they weren't the only victims. in ozersk, the off limits city in the ural mountains near the maiak plant, cancer rates rose to extremely high levels. but no one was allowed to talk about it. reporter: after the dissolution of the soviet union, koutepova sought compensation for affected families. she also publicized the scandal in the international media. the russian authorities wanted to silence her. she was publicly accused of industrial espionage. the french office of the international league for human rights intervened and helped her leave russia. >> unfortunately, there are several cases in which people like nadejda koutepova have been physically attacked or even murdered for their work for human righ