Swedish nuclear watchdog eases supervision of nuclear plant

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.