RALPH PARKER REPORTS FROM MOSCOW

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‘I visited first atomic power plant’

MOSCOW

Tam the only British corre-.
Spondent to have visited the }

World’s first working atomic
Power station in the Soviet
nion.

I

Sry of the station — records
Studieq by scientists and stud-
nts from many parts of the
World,

¥ And I listened while the sta-
“A chief, Nikolai Nikolayev,

peat this stage we can claim
have proved that an atomic

Power station can be run with

Safety,

_ “We have had no accidents

2nd the health of our workers
8S not suffered. There have

Standing in the control room fic in those days.”
Watched the ticking instruments
: fecording the 15 months life his-| t

we put into the Moscow grid is
a very small fraction of the
whole, remember that the first
automobile to drive among the
droshkies didn’t have much
ishare of the total wheeled traf-

Complicated? No more. so
an a conventional thermal
‘plant. “We could build an atomic
; power station at the North Pole,”
‘said the chief.
xt at it

The power station, standing
only a few hundred yards from
the residential quarters, could
have been a research laboratory,
a public library even. No dust
or smoke; tobacco plants and
sunflowers grew up the clean
plastered walls, house martins’
nests clung to the eaves.

Inside, the first impression the

igymnasium with its smooth,
blue-grey walls, the strong lights
set in round opertures, and the
various sets of equipment.

The temperature was only a
little above normal. The hum of
machines beneath. our feet so
low that our guide did not need
to raise his voice.

The 20-foot steel-lined tubes

—like billiard cues or church
candles—contain uranium. When
needed they are carried by over-
head crane into position above
the reactor and then lowered.
. The tubes they replace have
to be removed by remote con-
trol and placed in a water tank,
where they gradually lose their
radioactivity.

During the changing process
the mechanical senses of the
building are closely studied.

industrial building:in the world.
Air, water, concrete and metal
are constantly being tested for

\{radioactivity by apparatus.

Every worker carries a special
stylo and a sensitized plate, the

one for detecting radioactivity,
the other as an automatic re-
cord of the “dose” he has ab-
sorbed.

“The quantity of uranium we
‘burn’ every day in the reactor
—30 grams—is equivalent to 100
tons of coal,” said the station
chief.

In place of coal and roaring
furnaces — this dustless, almost
silent, chamber, where the hand
of man is required only once
every three months!

The process at this crucial
stage is invisible. But so is the

station,” said the chief.

' The power station is auto-
matic. The controllers decide
the critical mass, the power,
the temperature they require
and set the controls according-
ly — the mechanism does the
rest.

Man has the role of bystander.
Systematically, persistently, vigi-
lently looking for a mechanical
error.

On Vladimir. Sergeyey and
Taissa Koluzhenove, the young
engineers in the control room,
lies the responsibility of seeing
ithat the chain reaction in the
atomic pile leads not to an ex-
plosion but the turning of a tur-
bine’s flywheel.

The data collected in the cén-
trol room are studied by the

*een no cases of radiation. reactor chamber makes is that] For this building has morejdanger. “You cannot smell, you | engineers who are building new
Although the 5,000 kilowatts|of emptiness. It is like a vastisensitive nerves than any other! cannot see danger in this power! 100,000 kw atomic power stations.
Branichey said Bulgarian Bulgaria has trade agree-

Bulgaria seeking ways
to trade with Canada

almost

2Ot realize and trade with

think of the acres of trucks
Cars unsold in Windsor,
akville and Oshawa that are
. peoly needed here. I think
€ layoffs at Massey-Harris
Cockshutt and wonder why

Ose Workers could not pro-.

a farm machinery for the
Bu farmers here.
with Baria is eager to trade
Quite Canada. This was made
View Clear to me in an inter-
of 4, “ith A. Branichev, chief
of the trade agreement section
in See ey of foreign trade
1a, when he listed the
tereste (ines Bulgaria was in-
ada. In buying from Can-
“&
A ready market for Can-
ang ... Manufactured goods
~, 2W materials is waiting
in Bulgaria for the

anadian company to
Way from the cold war

labo,

|
|
i
i

By JOHN STEWART

The more I see of this country of contrasts making an historic leap from what is
Semi-feudalism to capitalism, I ask: What is wrong with us in Canada that we do
this country of less than eight million people ?

SOFIA

trade policies and start doing
business.”

Newsprint, cellulose
‘ducts, aluminum, copper,
bestos, electrical goods, farm
machinery, trucks were only
a few of the articles from a
long list that he quoted to me.

He disclosed that the govern-
‘ment is considering sending a
trade representative to Canada
to investigate the possibility
of opening trade between’ the
two countries.

Instructions are being is-
sued by the ministry to all
Bulgarian export firms to
get in touch with various
Canadian companies in an
effort to open talks that
could lead to trade.

Of course, Branichev added,
trade is a two way proposition
and Canada must be prepared

-pro-
as-

or backs Cypriots

C
Shay

TO direct ; : ; le of
ct its “get tough” policy against the people o
Britain’s Tory government has appointed Field Mar-

bruta; * John Harding who has announced he will adopt the
Labor measures used in Kenya and Malaya. The British

Sele.
ents being landed.

\

Party is demanding that Britain “accept the right of
forcan, €tmination for Cypriots.” Picture shows British rein-

to buy things from Bulgaria as
Britain, France, West Germany
and other capitalist countries
are doing.

When I asked what Bulgaria
could sell us he said there were
now 600 items on their export
list compared with only 160 in
prewar years. “Surely in such
a list we can find through ne-
gotiation—what we can sell and
buy,” he said.

Oriental tobacco, canned and
frozen fruits, famous Bulgarian

attar of rose for perfume,
medical herbs, high quality
marble, some special cheeses,

were among the products for
which, he felt, there was a
market in Canada. He also

cited Bulgarian handicrafts,
specially woodwork which is
renowed the world over for
artistic craftmanship.

I asked him about the pos-
sibility of multilateral agree-
ments involving several coun-
tries through which problem
payments might be solved. He
replied that the matter was
now being discussed by the
ministry and by the UN Eco-

nomic Commission in Geneva.

trade with Western countries
was increasing steadily after
reaching a low point in 1953 as
a result of the cold war.

In 1949 trade with the West
amounted to 20 percent of Bul-
garian trade but this dropped

to a low 6 percent early in 1953.
No., however, it has crept back
up to 13 percent and. is still
growing.

Throughout Bulgaria new

_ ments with Britain, France,
Austria, West Germany, but,
“It is unfortunate that we have
as yet no relations with Can-
ada,” said Branichev. “The
most important thing now is
that various firms get in touch
with each other and discuss

what we can do,” he said, add-
ing that even the smallest items
would be a good beginning.

industrial developments, like

this electrical plant, aré transforming the country.

Premier responds to Communist offer

Peace talks proposed in Malaya

KUALA LUMPUR

After receiving a new peace
call from the Malayan Com-
munist party. last week, Malayan
Prime Minister Tengku Abdel
Rahman declared he was ready
to meet Communist represen-
tatives.

The Communist peace all,
the second this year, was sent in
the form of letters to Tengku
Rahman and other Ieaders of the
Alliance party which now forms
the Malayan’ government.

It asked for immediate dis-
cussions on peace and declared
that a Communist representative
would shortly be sent to Kuala
Lumpur to arrange a meeting
between Alliance and Communist
leaders.

Tengku Rahman said that the

letter was genuine, that it would
be discussed “at the highest
level,” and that he would be
prepared to meet any represen-
tative of the Malayan Communist
party “in a civilised spot.” |

Written in Chinese on a thin
sheet of air mail paper and
posted in Malaya, the letters
reportedly said:

“In response to: the Malayan '

people’s struggle for a people’s
democratic, independent Mal-

aya, the Federation government.
‘announced an amnesty on Sep-

tember 8,”

Noting the desire of the
Federation government to bring
the war to an end, the letter
pointed out that “the methods

stated in the announcement
are unjust and unrealistic.”
The letter continued: “We

wish to reiterate that we are in
favor of an immediate discus-
sion between the parties at war,
to rea@h a fair decision, so that
the question of cease-fire, a
satisfactory solution to end the
emergency and a peaceful and
independent Malaya can be
settled at an early date.

“To avoid further losses of

‘human lives and property, and

to enable the various political
problems to be settled in a
peaceful atmosphere, it is essen-
tial that the representatives
concerned must first come to an
agreement on a complete cease-
fire.

“We bélieve that if the
British military authorities are
sincere, a complete cease-fire
can be realised early.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 7, 1955 — PAGE 3