Soviet Nuclear Stations Reported Running Longer Than Customary

The Economist magazine said Thursday that the Soviet Union runs its nuclear power stations far longer than the normal 6,000 hours a year. It added that the total output from Soviet nuclear power stations has fallen behind planned levels because new plants were not opened on time.

The article was written over several months by David Wilson, a Soviet specialist at Leeds University, and was completed before the accident Friday at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant 80 miles from Kiev, The Economist said.

Many Hours Longer

It said existing Soviet nuclear stations are being run for many hours longer than normal in other nations and that regular service work was not being carried out. It did not specify how many additional hours the plants were run.

By the end of 1985, the report said, the Soviet Union was operating 18 nuclear power stations with a total capacity of 26,840 megawatts. The Chernobyl plant was capable of producing 4,000 megawatts, or 15% of all nuclear power in the Soviet Union.

Wilson said the Soviets had added 37% less capacity than planned so far in the current five-year plan. Planners subsequently set a lower target, but the industry still missed that by 12%, he said.