Oskarshamn Contractors Suspected Of Preparing To Sabotage Plant
Written by NucNet
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
21 May (NucNet): Two contractors were arrested today suspected of
preparing to sabotage the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in southern
Sweden, after traces of explosives were found on a bag being carried by
one of the men, police said.
"Two Swedish men were arrested. The prosecutor suspects them of attempted sabotage," Sven-Erik Karlsson of the local police said in a statement. He said both men were contractors who had been working on unit 2 at the plant for some time. The unit had been undergoing routine maintenance.
Swedish authorities initially detained one man at the plant at around 08:00 this morning after detecting traces of explosives on a bag he was carrying.
According to plant operator OKG a routine smear test detected the traces when the man was entering the premises. OKG said police were called and the man was taken into custody.
The bag did not appear to contain any prohibited substances, but as a safety precaution police were checking the bag and its contents in detail. "A threat does not exist and has not existed," said OKG.
OKG president Lars Thuring said the incident proved that the plant's security regime works.
"Our joint assessment is that the security of the reactors was never threatened," Mr Thuring said. "We are however taking all necessary measures to verify this, of course" he added.
OKG spokesman Anders Oesterberg said the two men were welders and that one of them had been working inside the plant for two weeks. He said sniffer dogs would be sent in to search the area around unit 2.
Oskarshamn's three boiling water reactors have a total net capacity of 2,215 megawatts, enough to meet some 10 percent of Sweden's electricity needs. Units 1 and 3 are operating normally.
OKG is jointly owned by Germany's E.ON and Finland's Fortum.
Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Support For Nuclear Energy On Rise In Sweden, Says Poll (News No. 140, 29 June 2006)
New CEO To Take Over At Oskarshamn (World Nuclear Review No. 38, 21 September 2007)
Software Problem Caused Scram At Oskarshamn-2 (News in Brief No. 31, 17 March 2008)
