Nuclear plant poorly constructed, Cuban journalist says

Published Wednesday, October 15, 1997, in the Miami Herald

Nuclear plant poorly constructed, Cuban journalist says

At least half of the materials used in the construction of the nuclear power plant in Juragua, Cuba, are defective, said a Cuban journalist recently arrived in Miami. And the reactor's containment walls do not meet the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he added.

Olance Nogueras made the allegations Tuesday during a news conference in Miami by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. Nogueras, a former reporter for the Independent Press Bureau of Cuba, migrated to the United States in early August.

According to Nogueras, whose earlier reports from Juragua earned him the Cuban government's disfavor, the materials were rated by Atomoergo, a Russian company overseeing the work of Cuban builders. Atomoergo also discovered that the reactor's walls were built to withstand a pressure of barely seven pounds per square inch, whereas the international minimum is 50 psi, Nogueras said, adding that the Atomoergo study was leaked to him by employees at the plant.

Ros-Lehtinen said she has scheduled a meeting with fellow legislators in Washington for Oct. 28 to seek ways to halt construction of the power plant.

Engineer Manuel Cereijo, a professor at Florida International University, said at the news conference that in the event of an explosion at Juragua, a radioactive cloud would cover Florida, Mexico and Central America within 24 hours.