The World : New Soviet Curbs on Press

Soviet authorities have drawn up new curbs on press coverage of accidents at nuclear plants despite criticism of the secrecy surrounding the industry since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. In an article marking the third anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident, the government newspaper Izvestia said it has been given a copy of a new directive covering the reporting of accidents and breakdowns leading to material damage, casualties and “non-catastrophic” environmental contamination. The directive bars the Soviet media from “revealing the above-mentioned information in non-classified documents and in telegraphic communications and in material . . . to be taken abroad,” Izvestia said.