Sweden’s Oskarshamns nuclear reactor shuts down again

Cracks found in newly replaced control rods at Sweden’s Oskarshamns nuclear facility has forced the reactor’s second shutdown since December, officials say.

The Oskarshamns-Tidningen newspaper reported Tuesday the cracks were found less than six months after the plant’s old control rods were replaced because of similar cracking, the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyra said.

Swedish authorities are now reportedly uncertain if it is safe to restart the reactor before the problem is permanently solved. The Oskarshamns reactor was closed from October to December last year after the first cracks were found, TT said.

Officials admit the cause of the cracking problem is unknown.

“It can be thermal fatigue, faulty material, or something else,” Oskarshamns nuclear plant spokesperson Anders Osterberg told the news agency. “Now it’s important that we find the definitive cause. Without that, we can’t eliminate the problem.”

Source: UPI