On Tuesday the 25th of July an incident occurred at Forsmark nuclear power station in Sweden that left one of the reactors without power for its safety systems. It took 20 minutes before the reserve generators could be started. Under those 20 minutes anything could have happened. Luckily it didn’t but a reliance on luck when it comes to safety in nuclear power is to say the least disturbing. What happened to the power supply to the reactor at Forsmark was something that supposedly couldn’t happen even in the worst disaster scenario. This impossibility has been waiting to happen for more than 20 years, Forsmark has been running since 1980.

After this near disaster four reactors have been shut down, two at Forsmark and two at Oskarshamn. If this had happened in winter it would, in all probability have resulted in a series of power cuts. As it is the electricity price is rocketing. Basing energy security on nuclear production is foolish. The slightest technical problem can necessitate the shutting down of reactors. The four reactors that are out of order now in Sweden cause the same reduction in electricity production that would ensue if 9000 wind turbines all broke down at the same time.

Sweden prides itself on the safety of its nuclear power stations. So much so that the possibility of a disaster happening on Swedish soil has been far from the limelight in the nuclear debate. Sweden like the UK is considering expanding its nuclear power production. Hopefully this kind of near miss disaster will show the world’s decision makers that accidents do happen no matter how careful you are. There is only one way to guaranty that another Chernobyl never happens and that is to stop producing nuclear power. Otherwise it is only a question of time.