News In Brief

Arms cut backs may hit US nuclear industry

The nuclear industry, increasingly dependent on orders for atomic weapons, could be threatened by the possibility of cuts in weapons programs, fostered both by pressure to reduce spending and growing public concern about nuclear war.

A new study says US orders for nuclear weapons and related equipment totaled at least $30 billion during 1983.

''The nuclear weapons industry is poised for growth but threatened with disappointment'' in the years ahead, the study produced by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Inc. found. It is a nonprofit institute that reviews how social issues affect major corporations and institutional investors.