Sweden does not need radiation protection, says Minister of Climate – EURACTIV.com
There is no reason for Sweden to introduce special radiation protection measures due to the Russian occupation of several Ukrainian nuclear power plants, two officials have said.
Minister of Climate and Environment Annika Strandhäll and Nina Cromnier, Director General of the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, held a conference on Ukraine’s nuclear reactors on Monday (March 21). The largest of the country’s nuclear power plants, located in Zaporizhzhya, is under Russian occupation. Nevertheless, the risk of an accident similar to Chernobyl in 1986 is still considered to be very low.
According to the Radiation Safety Authority, which is in constant contact with the IAEA’s international monitoring system, Ukraine has no elevated radiation levels. The safety functions for the country’s power plants are also said to continue to function and function.
“The nuclear power plants that are in operation today are of a different design and are much safer. A leak from them would not reach as high in the air and spread so far,” Cromnier told SVT.
According to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, the distance between the occupied Ukrainian reactors and Sweden is between 80 and 150 km, which means that the potential leaked radiation would not travel that far.
One of the three available radiation protection measures – evacuation, staying indoors and iodine tablets – is only relevant if a facility is located 100 km or closer.
Strandhäll said that she understands that residents of southern Sweden may be worried about nuclear accidents in Ukraine, but that such concerns are unfounded and that it does not help to take iodine tablets.
“You can stop buying iodine tablets, they have no effect in the event of an accident in Ukraine (…) you can feel very calm,” she said.