Soviet Atomic Test Expected Soon

The Soviet Union, which two months ago abandoned a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing, appears likely to detonate another nuclear device at its underground range within a few days, an environmental group said Tuesday.

Jacob Scherr, a Washington attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Soviets had ordered seismology equipment erected by his organization near the test facility in Kazakhstan turned off Tuesday morning.

“They have followed the same procedure before each of their nuclear tests this year,” Scherr said. “They advise us we must shut down our monitoring stations, and then a few days later they conduct a test. Their pattern has been to conduct the tests late in the week, so we’re expecting another one soon.”

The test would be the fourth conducted since February, when Moscow abandoned a voluntary 19-month moratorium on nuclear testing after the United States refused to make the freeze mutual.