January 14, 1967
Soviets announce plans to build new atomic reactors
Soviet Minister of Energy and Electrification (Minenergo), Pyotr Neporozhny, has announced that his country plans to establish a nationwide electricity grid by 1975. The Soviet Union produced only 40% as much electricity as the United States in 1965. But this gap will be narrowed, even eliminated, if the Soviet Union attains its goals of 1 trillion kilowatt-hours by 1970 and 3 trillion kilowatt-hours by 1980. [1] To meet these needs, the Soviets plan to build many more atomic power plants. Currently, there are only three reactors operational in the Soviet Union, but two reactors are currently under construction in the USSR, one at Novovoronezh and one at Beloyarsk. Construction on two additional reactors at Novovoronezh will begin later this year and eight more reactors will be built across the country by 1970. [2]
The Soviets, normally secretive about their nuclear technology, are touting their advancements in atomic reactor technology. Neporozhny claimed that their new reactors will use a new “accident-proof” design, which are claimed to be much safer than those of the “decadent capitalists”, referring to the Fermi disaster. Reactors planned for Leningrad and Kursk will use the new design. [3][4]
The Fermi disaster is well-known in the USSR. For months, government-controlled Soviet newspapers have gleefully reported on the disaster, featuring headlines like “Detroit Obliterated by Capitalist Greed” and “Americans Shamed by Nuclear Disaster”.
''Millions of panic-stricken people have left the city of Detroit as a result of the accident,'' Pravda, the Communist Party daily, reported days after the Fermi meltdown. The report further stated that local police were disobeyed as residents ''locked their homes and left for other regions. Many people are frightened, and the crisis is not yet over.''
A report in Tass said the accident ''became a symbol of the shameful policy of the authorities and nuclear monopolies.'' Echoing a theme often found in Soviet reporting on the U.S., Tass said that Fermi’s owners ignored signals of danger at the plant because the bottom line was more important than human life. “The company kept silent about the accident at the station,'' Tass reported. In addition, Tass charged that government officials were ''saying nothing, either to the municipal authorities or the population or even the personnel in the disaster zone.''
Worst of all, Tass said, was the ''infamous role'' played by local government officials who ''claimed no need for compulsory evacuation.'' The articles were accompanied by interviews with leading Soviet scientists who said reassuringly that no similar accident could happen at Soviet nuclear power plants. [5]