Sweden shuts down four nuke reactors after near-meltdown of one
The near-meltdown of one of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors has resulted in the closure of three additional reactors over safety concerns. It's also fueled a raging debate in the country over the future of nuclear power. After a short-circuit of the national grid kept power from reaching a reactor at the Forsmark plant 125 miles north of Stockholm, only two of the four diesel generators meant to provide backup power for a safe shutdown came online -- barely enough to contain a disaster, critics said. Analysts say that without power, if none or even just one of the generators had come on, a meltdown was possible in some 90 minutes. "It's a bit like a lottery," said nuclear engineer and consultant Lars-Olov Hoglund. (Just what you like to hear from nuclear engineers!) In the 1980s, anti-nuke activism was all the rage in the country. Looks like that retro fashion may be back in style.
source: International Herald Tribune, Ivar Ekman, 04 Aug 2006
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