Work to Clean Up Chernobyl Area Continues

The Soviet Union said today that it is still working to decontaminate the area around the devastated Chernobyl nuclear plant. An American doctor said foreign experts will probably remain in Moscow at least a month treating radiation victims.

The official Tass press agency carried a government statement saying radiation levels are decreasing around the Ukrainian power plant. The statement said the radiation readings have not yet reached normal levels.

The statement, the fifth official government statement issued by the Soviets since the April 26 explosion, fire and resulting radiation release, said workers are shoring up the banks of the Pripyat River to protect it from radioactive contamination.

Little New Data

The Soviets have said the Chernobyl accident killed two people and injured about 200 others. Today’s statement provided little new information about the accident or its effects.

The government statement was read on the national television news program “Vremya” (Time), which also showed what it said were a few evacuees at a collective farm where they are working while their settlements are being decontaminated.

Also today, Dr. Robert Gale of UCLA said by telephone that he has been operating on victims of the nuclear plant disaster. Gale, a bone-marrow transplant specialist, arrived Friday to help Soviet doctors treat those most seriously injured in the accident.

He declined to say today how many bone-marrow transplants he has performed in Moscow. A bone-marrow transplant is considered the only effective treatment for serious radiation exposure.

Other Specialists

Asked how long he will be needed to treat Chernobyl victims, Gale replied: “We expect to be here for at least a month.”

Two other U.S. specialists, Dr. Paul Terasaki and Dr. Richard Champline, are in Moscow to help the injured, and an Israeli, Dr. Yair Reisner, arrived today, Gale said.