Chernobyl Toll Climbs to 19, Soviets Report

The Soviet Union on Monday raised the death toll from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to 19 as a top Soviet scientist warned of the “theoretical possibility” of further danger from the reactor’s damaged radioactive fuel core.

Yevgeny P. Velikhov, a physicist and vice president of the Academy of Sciences, disclosed the latest casualty figure at a news conference here. He said the commission established to investigate the matter has tentatively concluded that “a number of consecutive incorrect actions” by technicians led to the accident.

Velikhov, an adviser to the commission, also said the behavior of the personnel manning the Chernobyl plant in the early hours of April 26, immediately before and after the accident, is being examined.

Human Error Theory

He declined to elaborate, but his statements supported earlier indications that human error, in the course of a shutdown for maintenance, caused the accident.

Describing cleanup operations at the damaged plant, Velikhov said that hundreds of workers, soldiers and scientists are involved at the plant itself and many more are working in the evacuation zone around the plant.

He said a “thermal balance” has been established and there are no indications that temperatures are getting higher inside the reactor, which has been smothered by 5,000 tons of sand and other materials.

But, he said, “if you mishandle that fuel, insulate it too much, it can heat up again and cause some dangers. We have to provide a safe solution for scores of years ahead, and it is a complicated and intricate problem.”

Velikhov said another accident is not probable but is “a theoretical possibility.”

He did not specify what might happen if the reactor’s core overheated, but a diplomat familiar with nuclear technology said such an overheating could cause another explosion and the emission of further radioactivity into the atmosphere.

The Communist Party newspaper Pravda said Monday that the reactor is still potentially dangerous. “The rebellious nuclear giant has not yet surrendered. It is still dangerous,” it said, adding that technicians expect to bring the reactor under control soon.

Pravda also printed what it called “fragments” written in a hospital by victims of the April 26 disaster, some of whom, it said, are “no longer with us.”

Pravda, acknowledging the Western assessment that the incident was the worst-ever nuclear plant accident, quoted one unnamed worker as saying he was near the reactor’s control center when he heard a strong jet of steam but thought nothing of it and went off for a break.

“At that moment--explosion,” he said. “I rushed to the window and there immediately followed the next. I saw a fireball rising above the roof of the machinery department of the fourth unit.

“We stayed to the end until we had put out the fire. Then we came downstairs and were taken away by ambulance. We were in a bad condition,” Pravda quoted him as saying.

Pravda quoted another unnamed worker as saying that he and his colleagues saw a glow in the distance.

“Together we decided that it could only be coming from the reactor and reported the situation for transmission to Kiev,” he said.

Velikhov said that two undamaged reactors at the Chernobyl station may be placed back in operation within the next six months, but he said it is far too early to consider allowing the 92,000 evacuated people to return to their homes.

Two men died instantly in the explosion and fire at the reactor and 17 others have died since from the effects of radiation. At one point, 35 people were on the critical list and a total of 300 were hospitalized with significant radiation exposure.

People living within a 19-mile radius of the Chernobyl facility were moved out of their homes and sent to temporary shelters around Kiev, 60 miles to the south.

Velikhov, who flew over the reactor 40 times in a helicopter while directing emergency work, said it may be months before a special government commission reports its findings.

Advice on Abortion

In response to a question about rumors that pregnant women evacuated from the area are being urged to have abortions, he said patients are being advised individually.

He said it will be months before the authorities can determine the effect of the Chernobyl incident on the Soviet energy program. He said the government will take a fresh look at nuclear safety issues but made it clear that no thought is being given to abandoning nuclear energy.

He said the explosion at Chernobyl was not particularly violent and left the glass in nearby windows intact.

He said that scientists worked around the clock to try to prevent the escape of radioactive steam, something that might have happened if the reactor temperature soared unexpectedly. A group of volunteers drained an underground reservoir and prevented this from happening, he said.

Velikhov said he is not sure whether reactor No. 3 at Chernobyl will be started up again, since it stands so close to No. 4, the reactor that was destroyed.

“I don’t know whether it (No. 3) will operate again,” he said. “A decision will be taken later.”

Widly Varying Levels

Levels of radioactivity at the site vary widely, he said. Readings in the immediate vicinity of the damaged reactor are in the hundreds of roentgens, while an observation post 36 miles away recorded only 15-thousandths of a roentgen, he said.

“Gamma radiation is very high in some unprotected areas and emissions (of radioactive substances) are very negligible,” he said. “The temperature (of the reactor) is a little high, but I think the situation is stationary.”

As for operating the undamaged reactors No. 1 and No. 2, which are situated some distance from No. 4, he said, “I think this will take us a few months, and we believe we can make the radiation situation in the station normal.”