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8 February 2007 - The head of Sweden's troubled Forsmark nuclear power plant has resigned, days after two of its three reactors were shut down because of possible technical problems.
CEO Lars Fagerberg said he would step down immediately. A new chief executive will be chosen soon, said the state-owned energy group Vattenfall AB, which controls Forsmark Kraftgrupp AB.
"Lars has been CEO for a long time and it's been very trying for him recently," Vattenfall spokesman Goran Lundgren said. Managers at the plant decided to shut down the two reactors after indications on Saturday that rubber seals at the Forsmark 1 reactor showed possible damage. Forsmark 2 was also taken off-line because the two plants are constructed similarly.
Both reactors have been plagued with problems, including brief shutdowns in December and last month. In July, a fire in an electric switchboard forced the shutdown of a reactor, but officials said at the time that there was no danger of a radioactive leak.
In a separate statement later Thursday, Vattenfall's board said it will propose Vattenfall executives Hans von Uthmann, as chairman, and Lennart Billfalk, as a member, of Forsmark's board to ensure rapid and thorough reporting on safety issues. It also said it plans to set up a special safety procedure committee, with three Vattenfall board members, to which the Forsmark head of safety will need to provide regular updates.
It added it will also advise an independent expert to evaluate the safety and reporting procedures of its nuclear reactors.
Forsmark has three reactors and is situated about 100km (60 miles) north of Stockholm on the Swedish east coast. It accounts for about one-sixth of Sweden's total electricity generation. The first of its three units went online in 1980.
Sweden has 10 nuclear reactors providing 50 per cent of its electricity, but the government plans to phase them out over coming decades.
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