Explosives found at Sweden nuclear site in Ringhals

[Catbird]

Hmmm. This could have become very, very ugly.

BBC:

"Security at Sweden's nuclear power stations has been tightened after explosive material was found on a truck near the largest plant in the country.

A routine vehicle check carried-out at the Ringhals power plant uncovered a fist-sized lump underneath the truck.

Police said initial results from forensic inspections confirmed the material was explosive.

Security has been tightened at all nuclear power plants by one notch, to the second-lowest level, police said.

There was no detonating device with the explosives and the company which runs the plant, Vattenfall, said the material could not have caused major damage."

Further details from World Nuclear News:

"A small amount of an explosive substance was discovered on a fork-lift truck at Vattenfall's Ringhals plant in Sweden yesterday. Police said there had been no mechanism for detonation and consequently no risk of explosion.

The plant is currently in outage and employing some 3500 workers with security split into two main areas: an outer circle controlled by multiple physical barriers and a system of cards and entry codes; and an inner circle surrounding the sensitive portions of the plant. "Every item, every person, every vehicle is checked every time" on entry to the inner circle, Ringhals communication manager Gösta Larsen told World Nuclear News.

The fork-lift truck in question is owned by Vattenfall and usually used in the inner security circle. It was last security checked on 18 June, but on 20 June left the area to complete some work in the outer zone. Later that day it returned and a dog discovered a small amount of explosive material behind the truck's hand fire extinguisher.

Police have launched a "preliminary investigation of suspected sabotage" and conducted a search with sniffer dogs. There have been "some additional discoveries" but no arrests have yet been made. "

[sandyd]

Scary!

[D. Gale]

Fist sized lump and no detonating device? Wonder if this was a test to see how big of an explosive could get past security without being detected.

[Catbird]

Originally Posted by D. Gale

Fist sized lump and no detonating device? Wonder if this was a test to see how big of an explosive could get past security without being detected.

That makes sense. But what has me curious is that the 2nd article mentions that there have been "additional discoveries". That makes me wonder if a detonator was found at a separate location and that it would have been added to the explosive once both were inside the inner security area.

[Samen]

Truck and or forklift?

Police spokesman Tommy Nyman said officers were investigating possible sabotage but had no suspects. He said the driver of the truck had been unaware of the explosives placed in the vehicle and was not suspected of being involved.
"An outsider has obviously placed them on the truck," Nyman said. "We're talking to the truck driver and are trying to map out her movements within the (Ringhals) premises throughout the day."
The area surrounding the truck was evacuated and cordoned off.
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said the explosive material was found on the truck "en route from the Ringhals industrial park into a protected area ... and did not enter the facility."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06...#ixzz1yRVVwutH

[Exodia]

I was thinking along D. Gales line of thought. Have they been running ever larger "lumps" through security to determine the treshold of detection?

I'd be curious to know what the additional discoveries are. What Catbird said makes sense also.

[Catbird]

ABC News describes it as "...believed to be civilian-type explosives used in demolition or excavation, was about the size of a tennis ball...".

One of the articles mentions that the plant was in outage status. I wonder how close they are to a start-up? Seems to me that the plant would be more vulnerable during the start-up procedures, and even a small amount of explosive could cause some major problems.

[Sysiphus]

Seems to me that the plant would be more vulnerable during the start-up procedures, and even a small amount of explosive could cause some major problems.

Not a baseball sized civvie explosive strapped to the bottom of a truck. This seems very odd indeed. Maybe a diversion?

[Samen]

Maybe they have been smuggling in explosives for a while and have a nice stash somewhere, but what would they blow up.

Pipes, cooling or what not, maybe some electrical boxes, enough to force the power plant to be shut down for repairs once it has been started again.

Cant imagine someone even thinking of blowing a hole in a reactor and probably that would be impossible, security and all.

Wonder who is behind this, another lone nut case trying to improve the world or a "green" organisation looking for attention on nuclear power plants in Sweden as the nuclear power phase-out did not go as planned.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Sweden
Sweden formerly had a nuclear phase-out policy, aiming to end nuclear power generation in Sweden by 2010. On 5 February 2009, the Swedish Government...

[Sonny]

I think it goes to show just how very sick some of the Anti Nuclear Power people are.
Beyond OCD... but, Sick..in..the..head! Sick

~

[Catbird]

Originally Posted by Sysiphus

Not a baseball sized civvie explosive strapped to the bottom of a truck. This seems very odd indeed. Maybe a diversion?

Since there was no detonator, maybe the explosive was placed there just to get it into the inner perimeter area. There, it could be picked up by someone and place anywhere.

Since there is so little info available, the possibilities are endless. I hope more info is released, just to satisfy our curiosity!