The reactor at Oskarshamn 3 nuclear power plants in Sweden was shut down due to “fuel damage” – World News
Oskarhamn 3 will be temporarily taken out of production for nine days from 19 February after assessments showed that a problem with “fuel damage” needed to be repaired immediately, according to owner OKG
Image: Alamy Stock Photo)
Sweden’s most powerful nuclear reactor and largest electricity producer has been forced to shut down due to “fuel damage”, according to reports.
Oskarhamn 3 will be temporarily taken out of production so that emergency repair work can begin.
The owner OKG said that the plan was to fix the problem in April during the plant’s annual inspection, but upon further assessment, the decision was made to stop electricity production for nine days.
This begins on February 19th.
The damage poses no risks to people or the environment, the company says.
The reactor, which has delivered 1450 MW since 2012, is more powerful than the two decommissioned reactors that are also on site together.
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Alamy Stock Photo)
This is what a spokesperson for the company says SVT Småland : “We estimate that the reactor will be out of production for nine days until February 27.”
Oskarshamn 3 is one of Sweden’s six nuclear reactors in operation.
The O3 was first built for 1050 MW, but it was first expanded to 1200, and most recently in 2012 to 1450 MW.
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Alamy Stock Photo)
Last year, the reactor broke production records with 11,000,000 MWh.
At the same time, the R3 reactor at Ringhals nuclear power plant, located on the Värö Peninsula, also had problems and had to be stopped several times earlier this winter.
The plant’s two other units, which produce boiling and pressurized water respectively and date from the 1960s and 70s, will be cut up and discarded as early as April 2023, according to the owners Westinghouse.
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Alamy Stock Photo)
For the interior of the reactor, engineers will use mechanical remote-controlled underwater equipment, the company said in a statement last year.
This comes after the prosecutor who leads an investigation that drones were observed at Sweden’s three nuclear power plants last month said that there is no evidence that foreign powers were involved, according to the publicly funded Swedish Radio.
The police in Sweden sent patrols and helicopters in mid-January to Forsmark’s nuclear power plant to hunt for a drone that was seen flying over the site but did not succeed in capturing the unmanned vehicle.
Drones were also observed at Oskarshamn and Ringhals.
Forsmark and Ringhals are operated by state-owned Vattenfall, while Oskarshamn is operated by the German energy company Uniper SE.
The three nuclear power plants account for about 30% of Sweden’s total power production.
The Mirror has contacted Uniper SE for comments regarding the suspension.
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