Silent Nightmare

On the night of April 25,1986, what was later described by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D,Ver.), as "by far the worst nuclear reactor accident known to mankind... beyond even the worst nightmares of nuclear scientists," occurred in the Soviet Union. At first, the Soviets said nothing about it. Only after Moscow officials were pressured by Sweden for an explanation of the sudden increase in radioactivity that Sweden detected, did the Soviet Council of Ministers issue the …

…observations are being carried out over the state of the environment."(16). (16)."Soviet Statements on Nuclear Plant Accident", New York Times, May 1,1986, pA10, cols 2,3,4. (17)."Effects of Soviet nuclear accident spread", Christian Science Monitor, May 1,1986, p1, cols 1,2. (18)."Fallout from Chernobyl", Christian Science Monitor,May 1,1986,p23,col 1,2. (19)."Effects of Soviet nuclear accident spread"; "Lack of specifics from Soviets leads to 2 theories about how crisis began"; "Soviets try to quell speculation on disaster", Christian Science Monitor, May 1, 1986, p48. cols 1,2,3.