Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant CIA Files - Paperless Archives

Tht Man/ifaclurins: lrr!raSlrUClllrcffJr the
:Vile/car ['OK'U rnduslr)'
Tht manufacturillg irr!rllstruclurt' for Ihe SOI'jet nucltur
p""'a illllusu)" Is dil'lded Into IhY! morC' or Itss
distillci subsels. 01lC' group, compostd qf ol·tr 500
major cillcrpr/SI"S, lIIakf's ('Oil/pollen IS for RBM K
Tl.'aClors. The logistic niglllmare qf Iht ROM K sup.
['Ort Indusir)' is a IIIaill rCUSOl1 this rcaclor has bten
scheduld for gradualphastollt. The olher-llnd
much slllallcr--groltp qf support enterprises manu.
faclurn compor-ellls/or I'I'ER rcaclors and Is sched.
ultd to produce for the brccder reactor prograll/. In
Ihe Ill/ler grollp qf ellterprises are the Jrhorsk Heal:\,
Equipment plant near Unillgrod and tIle ",oll/mash
plant olltside Volgodo/uk, tK'O qf Ihe 10rg(11 nuclcar.
cOl1lponelll'fobricorion/adlilies in Ihe K·orld. 8ullhe
AlolI/mash plant has ShOk'1I a disapPOinting puform.
once sillct producliOIl qf VVER pussure I"tsscls
began In 1978. Far frOIll btl/Ig a showcase lIudear
asumbly plan I. Alollllllash has bun plagued ... llh
problems-poor mallogtlllmi. prOdllclion qf subslon.
dord COIIIl'OneI/lS, alld plol/l dalllagl! froll/ grOlll;d
subsidettC'e.
nuclear prOl:ram as wcll as safety rCI'iews will proba.
bly mcan that the economic rationale for a largc.scale
brceder·rcactor program currently targeted to start in
the latc 1990s will be croded.
The InHuenee of Nuclear.lndustry InfrKstrueture
The large investment thc SOl'icts hal'e made in manu.
fzcturing plants that supply the nuclear industry \\ill
bolstcr their commitment to a growing and little.
changco program (see inset). Plants manufacturing
components for Soviet·designed reactors are located
not only in the USSR but also throuahout Eastern
Europe. The SOI'iets ha\'e invested tens of billions of
rubles and millions of dollars of hard currency im.
ports in building and equipping their facilities. They
hne accomplished many of their /loals for ecntraliz.
ing component production and for intceratine the
capabilities of the CEMA. The East European coun.
tries. for e.\ample. can produce: nearly all thc components
for power plants using VVER·~40 reactorswith
the notable c.~ccptiun of nuclear·fud ass.:m!llies.
Moreo\'cr, VVER and RO~IK rluclcar 1>OI\'cr plants
buill in the USSR cunlain man) key component.
nunu(actured in Eastcrn Europe. '
Because it appears likely to We~h:rn 'lbscrvcrs llut
the failure: of or an in3dcqu3te operation31 ran~e of
certain componc:nts could bal'C: contributed to Ihe
Chcrnobyl' accid:nt. the absence of ~epcrcussions in
Ihe .Min iSlr)' of Power Machine Buildinll or the
Ministry of the: Electrical Equipment Industry i1
surprising. The IAEA speci31 OIcctilll: on Chcrnob)i'
prcwided insight 00 this maUer. Accordin& 10 the
Soviet 3ccounl of the accident. improper dcsians. not
poorly built components, explained cntirc:ly the inabil,
ity of certain systems to perform as expected." Thus,
in a pen'crse: way, the Chernobyl' accident is aood
news for the equipment manufacturing ministries
because they were implicitly certified as competenL
Indeed. it is possible that more resourCes "ill be
assigned to them so that equipment for modifications
c;!n be produced qllickly.
Antinuclear Voices In (he USSR
Antinuclear mo\'cments as they exist in the West are
nOI possible in the USSR. Mose:ow's control oraans
probably would effectively prohibit the organization
of an antinuclear group of substantial size and almost
ccrtainly would prel'ent public demonstrations or cir.
culation of publications containing vicws opposed to
official policies on nuclear energy. The Soviets have
also minimized the opportunities for an antinuclear
lobby by mounting an e/Teetil'e pronuclear.eampaign
that ad\'ertiscs the advantages of nuclear power: fuel
~\;ngs, less environmental impact than coal, and
lower overall costs.
Ne\·crthcJcss. antinuclear sentiments exist in the
USSR, and they receive some degree of official
acknowledgment. Three groups that hal'e questioned
" In the nuclc.u indu!!.uy. as in other SO ... ·icl induslrin, rnpoRs,ilril.
ilks (or dcsi£'ns of cqui(lt11cnt 2nd "bnts .He undlcd br institutes
ud burC3US thll Of"(:Ulc nculy indc('(ndent1y or the ~J\u(~ur.
i~ :tnd con!'Uucl;on ortosniLalion) thaI usc the doianl
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