In Finland Fortum owns the Loviisa nuclear power plant and also has a 26.6% share of the Olkiluoto plant. Fortum also has a 25% share in the new power plant unit under construction in Olkiluoto. In Sweden we own a share in the Forsmark (22%) and Oskarshamn (43%) plants.
Nuclear safety, and especially preparedness for extreme external events, became a major concern in the European Union after the Fukushima nuclear accident. To make nuclear safety more transparent, the EU decided in May 2011 to carry out nuclear safety stress tests.
Safety evaluations were carried out in Loviisa and on Fortum’s eight co-owned reactors in Sweden and Finland. The stress test addresses the safety of the nuclear power plant in conjunction with an earthquake, flood, weather phenomena, and loss of heat sink. It also assesses the operation of the organisation in case of a severe accident and how the plant is technically equipped to manage that.
The conclusions indicate that the design basis criteria for external events and related safety margins are robust enough at all Fortum’s plants. Measures for further safety improvements will be implemented within the Loviisa nuclear power plant’s normal annual investment programme. The improvements will not have an impact on the availability of the power plant. The Swedish and Finnish radiation safety authorities have given external conclusions for all Fortum’s nuclear plants, see the statements at www.stuk.fi and www.stralsakerhetsmyndigheten.se.
In addition to stress tests, the national Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland has carried out its own national safety evaluation in cases of power loss and exceptional weather and environmental conditions. No need for immediate safety improvements was identified. Fortum submitted a more detailed study and action plan regarding these issues in Loviisa in December 2011. In Sweden, a national coordination group led by the Swedish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority was established for stress tests.