Stockholm - A Swedish nuclear watchdog Wednesday lifted its
special supervision of a Swedish nuclear power plant that had been
under observation since 2006.
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority introduced stricter
supervision of the Forsmark nuclear facility, north of Stockholm,
after the shutdown of one of the three reactors in July 2006.
Subsequent probes brought into question safety procedures at
Forsmark, and reports indicated problems with reporting and
follow-up of maintenance.
The operators of the Forsmark plant now 'fulfill the prerequisites
to conduct security work without special supervision,' inspector
Christer Karlsson of the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said.
The agency would continue its 'regular' supervision, he added.
Forsmark is owned by state-owned utility giant Vattenfall.
Sweden once had as many as 12 nuclear reactors in operation, but
two reactors at the Barseback plant in southern Sweden have been
decommissioned, most recently in May 2005.
In a related development, the operator of the Oskarshamn plant in
south-eastern Sweden is considering an application to build a new
reactor.
Oskarshamn has three reactors, the oldest of which went online
1972. The time needed to secure concessions and necessary permits
suggests that an application would be filed after parliamentary
elections scheduled for 2010, the Oskarshamns-Tidningen reported
Wednesday.
'This is a big project and the application will be comprehensive,'
Per Lindell of E.ON Sweden was quoted as saying.
The Oskarshamn plant is operated by energy groups E.ON of Germany
and Finland's Fortum, and produces about 10 per cent of Sweden's
electricity.
The ruling Swedish centre-right government recently announced it
would revoke a 1980 referendum decision to phase out nuclear power,
which accounts for about half of the country's electricity.
The government opened for replacing the current 10 reactors with
new reactors, citing the debate about climate change and need to
secure long-term energy production.
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