Swedish Nuclear Reactor Ordered Offline Due to Safety Concerns

Thursday, December 6, 2012

STOCKHOLM--The Oskarshamn 2 nuclear reactor in southern Sweden will be taken offline Thursday after the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority ordered an immediate shut-down due to safety concerns.

The authority said the reactor's operator, OKG, which is owned by German utility E.ON AG and Finnish Fortum Oyj, hasn't been able to show that important safety functions comply with the required standards.

The authority's concerns relate mainly to diesel generators which are part of the plant's backup power system.

"One of the diesel generators was not serviced as planned in 2011. That now has to be done," Leif Karlsson, head of section at the authority said. "The other generator needs to go through at least a 48-hour durability test."

The Oskarshamn 2 reactor is one of three at the Oskarshamn plant. It went online in 1974 and has a maximum capacity of 661 megawatts.

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