Ringhals 3 problem
IAEA reviews long-term safety of Sweden's Ringhals 3
An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts today completed a review of the long-term operational safety of unit 3 of the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Sweden. The team assessed the plant's preparedness, organisation and programmes related to long-term operation against IAEA safety standards.
Ringhals 3 - a MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR) - began operations in The original design lifetime of unit 3 and unit 4 - a MWe PWR - will expire in and , respectively. Vattenfall AB, the plant operator, is planning to extend operation of both units for a total operational lifetime of 60 years each.
A Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) peer review is a comprehensive safety review addressing strategy and key elements for the safe LTO of nuclear power plants. SALTO missions complement IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions which are designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. SALTO peer reviews can be carried out at any time during the lifetime of a nuclear power plant, though according to the IAEA the most suitable time lies
Aging management at Ringhals-3 has improved
A grupp of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have completed a review of the long-term operational safety of Unit 3 at Sweden’s Ringhals nuclear power plant, noting substantial improvements from a previous agency visit in
The review, which had been requested bygd the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), the Nordic nation’s nuclear regulator, wrapped up September
According to the IAEA, the Safety Aspects of Long begrepp Operation (SALTO) team focused on aspects essential to the safe long-term operation (LTO) of Unit 3—a 1,MWe three-loop pressurized vatten reactor that entered commercial operation in September (Ringhals houses two additional operating reactors: enhet 1, an MWe boiling water reactor that began operation in January , and enhet 4, an 1,MWe PWR that started up in November Another unit, Ringhals-2, was permanently shut down at the end of last year.)
The original design lifetime of Unit 3 will expire next year, but Vattenfall AB, the plant operator, is planning to extend operation for a total operational lifetime of 60 years.
Sweden struggles to get its nuclear power up
Winter is still going strong in Sweden. For its electricity the country relies heavily on hydro and nuclear power, and will even do more so in the future. But Sweden struggles with keeping everything up and running.
Featured image: The Ringhals nuclear power site of Sweden (Press photo by Vattenfall)
Currently the biggest Scandinavian country could potentially have 10 nuclear power plants: three in Forsmark relatively close to Uppsala and Stockholm, three in Oskarshamn on the Southeastern Coast, and four in Ringhals near Gothenburg. But only six are currently operational, and of the remaining four some will likely never come online again.
Planned maintenance on Ringhals 4 does not go as easy as thought, and restarting the reactor will be postponed another month to 19 March , energy company Vattenfall has said in a statement. Earlier 23 February was mentioned, and before that 31 January.
The Ringhals site is run as a joint venture of state-owned Vattenfall (%) and Sydkraft Nuclear Power (%), the latter being a daughter company of Germany based Uniper.
Fire in reactor house
But the nuclear power production in Sweden is strugg