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3 August 2006 - Sweden's nuclear regulator SKI will meet in emergency session today to decide on a possible immediate shut-down of all but one of the country's nuclear power stations supplying up to 50 per cent of Sweden's electricity.
On Thursday the Swedish subsidiary of German power company E.On AG (EON) said it would shut down two of its nuclear reactors in the Swedish city of Oskarshamn, citing concerns over possibly defective power backup systems.
Environmental campaigners Greenpeace has called for the reactors to be shut down following an incident last week at Sweden's Forsmark nuclear power station.
"There's been demands for independent investigations and the appointment of expert groups. There could be such a group appointed followed by stricter demands," said Lena Berglund, press secretary to Sweden's Minister for the Environment Lena Sommestad, and speaking on behalf of the minister.
The Forsmark incident was caused by the failure of back-up generators
following a problem with the main power supply. If the backup system fails
after a grid cut-off or a whole blackout, the operator loses instrumentation and control over the reactor leading to an inability to cool the core, which can lead to a meltdown. In a report published last year, Greenpeace highlighted the widespread and frequent problems of failing power backup systems of nuclear reactors, which have also been reported in the US and Germany.
Swedish media reported yesterday that a former director of the Forsmark plant said "It was pure luck that there was not a meltdown. Since the electricity supply from the network didn't work as it should have, it could have been a catastrophe." Without power, the temperature would have been too high after 30 minutes and within two hours there could have been a meltdown.
"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" said Jan Vande Putte of Greenpeace International. "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."
Speaking on behalf of Sommestad, however, press secretary Berglund said that "this couldn't be compared with something as serious as a meltdown" and that "it was never close to it."
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