Nuclear Power Plant Accidents Russia

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of history's worst nuclear power plant disaster, scientists report that a group of children 120 miles away who were born eight years after a reactor exploded near Chernobyl, Ukraine, have twice as many mutations in their DNA as do other children. Although researchers have long known that radiation can permanently damage DNA, this study by scientists in Russia and England offers the first evidence that people can pass such mutations to their children.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of history's worst nuclear power plant disaster, scientists report that a group of children 120 miles away who were born eight years after a reactor exploded near Chernobyl, Ukraine, have twice as many mutations in their DNA as do other children. Although researchers have long known that radiation can permanently damage DNA, this study by scientists in Russia and England offers the first evidence that people can pass such mutations to their children.

Radioactive gases escaped from a Chernobyl-style nuclear reactor near St. Petersburg because of a valve breakdown, the head of a commission investigating last month's leak said Friday. The leak was not caused by a defective graphite tube, as Russian nuclear officials initially believed, Sergei Adamchik told a news conference. The March 24 leak at the Leningradskaya plant in Sosnovy Bor, 50 miles west of St.

An explosion at a secret Siberian nuclear weapons complex contaminated an area more than three times greater than previously thought, the latest official estimate said Monday. At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, meanwhile, the No. 1 reactor was shut down Monday because of a malfunctioning turbine engine, the Itar-Tass news agency said. Head engineer Viktor Vasilchenko said there was no danger of radiation leaks.

An explosion at a secret Siberian nuclear weapons complex contaminated an area more than three times greater than previously thought, the latest official estimate said Monday. At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, meanwhile, the No. 1 reactor was shut down Monday because of a malfunctioning turbine engine, the Itar-Tass news agency said. Head engineer Viktor Vasilchenko said there was no danger of radiation leaks.

The most recent Soviet nuclear power incident stemmed from nothing more sinister than raindrops. At the Khmelnitsky power plant in western Ukraine, moisture from a spring downpour somehow worked its way through the insulation of a generator's grounding wire and triggered a major short-circuit late last month.

Many more people were bombarded by high doses of radiation from the Chernobyl accident than officially reported, and even those who received small doses are in jeopardy, a pioneering Russian-American study has found. "We have gotten a completely new picture of the medical consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe," said Dr. Vladimir M. Lupandin, a Russian physician who was one of the leading investigators in the survey.

The most recent Soviet nuclear power incident stemmed from nothing more sinister than raindrops. At the Khmelnitsky power plant in western Ukraine, moisture from a spring downpour somehow worked its way through the insulation of a generator's grounding wire and triggered a major short-circuit late last month.

Many more people were bombarded by high doses of radiation from the Chernobyl accident than officially reported, and even those who received small doses are in jeopardy, a pioneering Russian-American study has found. "We have gotten a completely new picture of the medical consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe," said Dr. Vladimir M. Lupandin, a Russian physician who was one of the leading investigators in the survey.

Radioactive gases escaped from a Chernobyl-style nuclear reactor near St. Petersburg because of a valve breakdown, the head of a commission investigating last month's leak said Friday. The leak was not caused by a defective graphite tube, as Russian nuclear officials initially believed, Sergei Adamchik told a news conference. The March 24 leak at the Leningradskaya plant in Sosnovy Bor, 50 miles west of St.