Sweden was 2 hours from a disaster worse than Chernobyl

Persson denies nuclear heroics

20th November 2006


Former prime minister Göran Persson was left dumbfounded yesterday by a report in a German newspaper. Welt am Sonntag claimed that Persson’s timely intervention helped prevent a catastrophe at the Forsmark nuclear power plant during the summer. Yesterday’s article explained to German readers that Persson gave permission to Vattenfall, which owns the facility, to open the ‘Wallmann valve’. Such a device is part of a pressure relief system found in many nuclear reactors to prevent explosion in the case of nuclear meltdown.

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate also describes the German newspaper’s reports as “completely false” and verifies Andersson’s assertion that Forsmark does not have a ‘Wallmann valve’.

One explanation for the error is a simple case of mistaken identity. There is a production manager at Forsmark 2 who also goes by the name of Göran Persson. The non-prime ministerial Persson’s name came up in at least one report in connection with safety problems during the summer.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Swedish nuclear plant slated for poor safety

29th January 2007


The Forsmark nuclear power station has blotted its copybook by means of insufficient safety precautions, staff working under the influence of alcohol and incidents that are described as "potentially fatal" in a new internal report.

The report was written in October of last year but has been kept secret until now, SVT's news programme Aktuellt reports.

The new revelations, described by SVT as "explosive", are to be broadcast on Monday evening's show.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Swedish nuclear reactor shut down

3rd February 2007


Reactor 1 at the Forsmark nuclear power plant on Sweden's east coast was shut down overnight, after faults were discovered in a security system.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Second Forsmark reactor shut down

3rd February 2007


Later on Saturday initial tests on Forsmark 1's sister reactor, Forsmark 2, also led to its shutdown for similar analysis.

"We will do the same work on Forsmark 2 as we are doing on Forsmark 1," Andersson said.

It was not known when either of the reactors would resume power production, he added.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Forsmark reactor barred from restarting

14th February 2007


The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate has denied permission for reactor 2 at the Forsmark nuclear power station to restart, and has ordered an inspection of reactor 3 at the same plant.

The decision to keep Forsmark 2 shut down will stay in force until the plant's operators, Forsmarks Kärnkraftsgrupp, have evaluated information from tests taken from the reactor.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

IAEA asked to inspect Swedish nuclear plant

16th February 2007


The Swedish government has asked the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to inspect its Forsmark nuclear power plant after a series of incidents that have raised concerns about atomic safety in the country.

Forsmark managing director Lars Fagerberg resigned last week in light of the recent safety concerns.

Separately, a nuclear reactor at the Ringhals nuclear plant south of Gothenburg has been closed today while officials investigate a small leak.

It is not yet known how long the reactor will be out of service.

"This is nothing serious," said Lars Eliasson, head of production at Ringhals.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Cigarettes found in nuclear plant restricted zone

26th February 2007


An investigation has been started at Sweden's Forsmark nuclear power station after an ashtray was found in a storage area in the restricted section of the plant.

The latest find follows the discovery last week of four radioactive particles in a corridor outside the restricted area, which is supposed to be free of radioactivity.

"This was not good - we should have such good routines that radioactivity is not spread within the facility," said Forsmark's new managing director Jan Edberg.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

30th May 2007


The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (Statens strålskyddsinstitut - SSI) has ordered the cessation of all deposition of nuclear waste at the Forsmark final storage facility. According to SSI, the company in charge of the deposition - Svensk Kärnbränslehantering - has failed to meet radiation protection requirements.

[---]

SKB has been ordered to suspend all depositions from June 21st.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.