World Notes SOVIET UNION

Ah, summer. Time for Soviet workers weary from the rigors of perestroika to enjoy the sun and surf at their favorite beaches. This year, however, Soviet vacationers received a rude shock: from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, ; signs warned bathers to swim at their own risk because the water was polluted.

Sound familiar? In fact, the Soviet Union may face a graver problem this year than the one in the U.S., where medical debris and sewage have washed up on beaches around New York City and New England. Authorities, for example, outlawed swimming last month in the Sea of Azov, 600 miles south of Moscow, after a local sewage system accidentally spilled raw waste into the water not once but twice.