Soviet Union Anatomy of a Catastrophe

Moscow blames "gross" human error for the Chernobyl accident

Violation of the established order in preparation for the tests . . . violation of the testing program itself and carelessness in control of the reactor installation . . . inadequate understanding on the part of the personnel of the operating processes in a nuclear reactor . . . loss of a sense of danger.

The language was thick and bureaucratic, but there it was in black and white. In an official report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Soviet Union admitted that the men and women operating the Chernobyl atomic- power power plant were responsible for the worst...

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