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SWEDEN: May 31, 2007
STOCKHOLM - Swedish authorities on Wednesday halted storage of radioactive waste at the Nordic country's troubled Forsmark nuclear plant.
The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI) said in a statement the company in charge of handling the waste, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management (SKB), had failed to live up to safety standards at the Forsmark storage site.
"The current flaws do not constitute any immediate risk to the surroundings, but SSI still takes a serious view of the situation at (the facility)," SSI said in a statement.
The authority, the regulatory body charged with promoting effective radiation protection in Sweden, said the firm had submitted late and incomplete accounts of operations, which indicated safety flaws, such as exceeding radiation limits.
Storage of nuclear waste at the plant would therefore be stopped as of June 21, it added. SKB's owners include state-owned energy firm Vattenfall and E.ON's Swedish nuclear subsidiary.
Sweden's nuclear industry has been hit by a number of incidents and sharp criticism following an emergency shutdown at one of the Forsmark nuclear plant's reactors in July last year. The International Atomic Energy Agency has begun inspections of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors at the request of the government. The United Nations nuclear watchdog is expected to report on its findings next year.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
