Energy News  
Nuclear safety agency criticises safety at Swedish plant: report

The Forsmark nuclear plant.
by Staff Writers
Stockholm (AFP) Sept 5, 2008
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority on Friday harshly criticised security measures at a problem-prone plant after finding that a vent in an emergency cooling system had been shut for a year, media reported.

During a routine inspection on August 18 this year, inspectors discovered that an emergency cooling vent in reactor 2 at the Forsmark nuclear plant on Sweden's east coast had been closed since their inspection there a year earlier, the TT news agency reported.

The vent is used to keep the reactor core cool if the regular cooling system stops working.

While SSM says the incident was not particularly serious, it cautioned that it could indicate lacking safety routines at the plant.

"We think that it is serious that Forsmark has not followed its own safety routines. We want to know if this was a one-time occurrence or (due to general) sloppiness, simply how this could have happened," SSM spokesman Anders Bredfell told TT.

"This is a question of safety culture. We are not happy with what has happened," he added.

The Forsmark plant is already under special supervision following several incidents there that culminated in a power failure on July 25, 2006.

The Forsmark 1 reactor was immediately shut down after two of four back-up generators, which supply power to its cooling system, malfunctioned for about 20 minutes, with some experts suggesting a catastrophic reactor meltdown had been narrowly avoided.

Forsmark said Friday it planned to review its routines following the revelation.

The routines "must work when you're doing this kind of work," Forsmark spokesman Claes-Inge Andersson told Swedish public radio.

He insisted however that the closed vent was "a one-time occurrence. We continuously work to ensure that routines and instructions are followed.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Nuclear suppliers reconvene in Vienna on US-India deal
Vienna (AFP) Sept 4, 2008
Nuclear supplier nations began a two-day meeting here Thursday to try and hammer out consensus on lifting a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India.







  • Analysis: Russia scores Uzbek natural gas
  • China says Iraqi oil deal still in negotiation
  • Oil prices dive on hurricane, strong dollar
  • Destiny, Florida Creates State's First Energy Farm

  • India says nuclear deal will ensure economic future
  • Nuclear safety agency criticises safety at Swedish plant: report
  • Nuclear suppliers clear landmark US-India deal
  • Nuclear suppliers reconvene in Vienna on US-India deal

  • New Clues To Air Circulation In The Atmosphere
  • Strange Clouds At The Edge Of Space
  • Dutch town tests 'air-purifying' concrete
  • Scientists Search For Answers From The Carbon In The Clouds

  • Greenpeace occupies timber export ship in PNG
  • Ghana, EU clinch deal to crackdown on illicit timber trade
  • Greenpeace gives Lula fireman outfit to fight Amazon blazes
  • Philippines official facing charges for cutting trees

  • Hong Kong considers ban on fishing trawlers: report
  • Coca-Cola to buy China juice maker for 2.4 bln dollars
  • Key Discovered To Cold Tolerance In Corn
  • CSIRO Helping Grain Growers Fight An Army Of Pests

  • Daimler and power group RWE to test electric car network in Berlin
  • PowerGenix Supplies Batteries To Light Electric Vehicle Market
  • Fiat plans to boost ties with China, India: reports
  • EU parliament eases road for hydrogen cars

  • Chinese airlines fly into headwinds in Olympic year
  • The M2-F1 - An Aircraft Without Wings
  • China's Tianjin building runway for Airbus test flights: report
  • NASA evaluates new wing sensor



  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement