Chornobyl KGB files

[NZman]

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 5, No. 18, 13 May 2003

UKRAINE

DECLASSIFIED KGB FILES SHOW AUTHORITIES KNEW OF CHORNOBYL'S FATAL
FLAWS. The Ukrainian intelligence service, the SBU, has released a
large number of previously secret documents that reveal the Chornobyl
nuclear-power plant suffered from serious design and building flaws.
The documents show that the authorities ignored KGB warnings
that the materials used in the plant's construction were
substandard and that the technicians operating the plant often did
not comply with safety regulations.
The SBU is the successor to the Soviet-era KGB of the
Ukrainian SSR. Around 120 files composed of information sent at the
time to Moscow KGB headquarters by its Ukrainian branch have been
published by the SBU on the Internet (http://www.sbu.gov.ua).
The documents reveal there had been previous accidents at
Chornobyl that released radioactive pollution into the atmosphere and
that the KGB had warned the plant should be shut down only months
before one of its reactors exploded on 26 April 1986. That explosion
resulted in the world's worst civilian nuclear accident and
spewed radiation across vast sections of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia,
and Western Europe.
But now the agency wants to set the record straight. "For a
long time, a section of the documents concerning Chornobyl was
inaccessible to historians and, therefore, much of the published work
that aimed at analyzing the causes of the catastrophe or to shed
light on government actions [at the time] are based essentially on
the memoirs and observations of the participants. Because of that,
many are tendentious and obstruct an objective examination of the
reasons and circumstances for the accident, especially in analyzing
its consequences and the effectiveness of government bodies," Maryna
Ostapenko, a spokeswoman for the SBU, told RFE/RL.
The bulk of the documents cover the 1986 accident and the
cleanup efforts running through 1988. Ostapenko said the files also
show that the plant, built in the 1970s, suffered 29 accidents
between 1977 and 1981 and that the Ukrainian KGB had warned of the
dangers posed by its continuing operation.
One KGB report, written in January 1979, said: "According to
operational data, there were deviations from design and violations of
technology procedures during building and assembling works. It may
lead to accidents."
"This release [of KGB files] contains only documents,"
Ostapenko said, "and it speaks in the language of documents -- that
is to say, a person who has these before him sees what actions were
taken by the Ukrainian secret services to warn the country's
ruling circles about the dangers of an accident and what actions were
taken by the security services after the accident. These [documents]
reveal a true picture of events at the time."
In September 1982, an accident at Chornobyl released what are
described in the files as "significant quantities of radiation" into
the atmosphere. Most accidents occurred through equipment failures.
Chornobyl technicians warned about the high risk of accidents at the
power station. One document deals with an inspection of the plant in
early 1986 by engineers who urged that it be shut down.
"We hope to restore the historic truth by publishing
documents about the station, its construction and the disaster
itself," Ostapenko said.
The documents, Ostapenko said, point a finger of blame at the
authorities in Moscow for failing to heed warnings about Chornobyl.
"You can find here letters written by the heads of the
Ukrainian security services to the top leaders of the Soviet Union
about the shortcomings in the construction and operation of the
Chornobyl power station," she said.
Ostapenko added that one reason Soviet leaders failed to take
action may have been because the information coming from Ukraine was
just a small proportion of the intelligence coming from the KGB's
offices throughout the Soviet Union.
"When this accident happened in 1986, the Ukrainian KGB was
part of a big machine. Ukraine was one of 15 Soviet republics.
Therefore, the reaction of the USSR leadership was not very
attentive. The very way that documents were transmitted, the lapse of
time and the conviction that such [an accident] could never happen
played a big role," she said.
The release of the documents comes shortly after Russian
Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev said a new shelter should
be built over the exploded reactor at Chornobyl. Russia is concerned
it could be affected if the present, hastily built sarcophagus over
the damaged reactor develops leaks or collapses, allowing
contaminants to escape.
The Ukrainian government says there is no immediate danger at
Chornobyl but is calling for more money from Western nations to erect
a new shield around the damaged reactor. It also wants funds to
complete construction of two new nuclear units to replace the
Chornobyl plant, which finally closed at the urging of Western
countries in 2000.

This report was written by RFE/RL correspondents Askold Krushelnycky
and Yulia Zhmakin

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