Soviet nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Briefing and hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, May 1 and 7, 1986

A briefing and hearing led by representatives of the interagency task force sought information on the causes and consequences of the Chernobyl accident and the implications for US nuclear plants. Task force members summarized the findings to date, and indicated that graphite reactors in the US have a different design, and that the cooling system design was at fault. They also described the environmental and public health implications of the accident. Among the participants in the hearing were representatives of the Departments of State and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and citizen groups. A Soviet Embassy official reviewed the chronology of the accident and attempted to moderate its importance with a comparison to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. Additional material submitted by DOE and the House subcommittee follows the testimony of the 13 witnesses