Sweden closes reactors on safety fears
Sweden closes reactors on safety fears
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Friday, 04, Aug 2006 09:03
Two nuclear reactors were shut down yesterday in the Swedish city of Oskarshamn due to safety fears.
The Swedish subsidiary of German power firm E.On said it closed a plant in the south-east of the country on news of possible defective power backup systems.
The Oskarshamn plant supplies about ten per cent of the electricity used in Sweden.
Closure of the plant is costing some 10 million kroner (£740 million) a day, the firm said.
A reactor in Forsmark, operated by Vattenfall AB, was shut down last week after a power failure.
Citing Lars-Olov Hoglund, a nuclear expert, environmental group Greenpeace International said it was "pure luck" there wasn't a meltdown at the site last week.
Jan Vande Putte of Greenpeace International said: "The Forsmark incident is just another illustration of the nuclear industry and nuclear regulators gambling with the lives of thousands or even millions of people.
"It has proved that a simple power blackout - something which has been happening regularly during the recent heatwaves - can very easily lead to a catastrophic reactor meltdown. This is a prime example of why this technology is inherently dangerous, must be phased out worldwide and never allowed to return.
"A combination of safe, renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency measures are the only sane solution for power generation."
Two other reactors, in Forsmark and Ringhals, are currently out of operation for routine maintenance, leaving only five of Sweden's ten nuclear power stations running.
The Swedish government is under pressure to launch an independent safety probe into the country's nuclear power plants.
It remains to be seen whether regulatory authority SKI will shut down the remaining five reactors as well.
Nuclear energy contributes about 45 per cent to Sweden's electricity needs.