	no proof of more chernobyl  damage diplomats western agricultural attaches in moscow said they had no evidence to substantiate rumours that last april s chernobyl nuclear disaster had a worse effect on soviet  than first reported current soviet interest in chartering ships to carry  from the u s helped prompt the rumours on world markets but the diplomats said they had seen no reports in the state press and heard no comments from officials to substantiate them the official media was initially slow in reporting the accident but under kremlin leader mikhail gorbachev s campaign for openness gradually gave more and more details land around the nuclear plant was contaminated to varying degrees some is now being used to grow industrial crops instead of  reuter 
