Swedish nuclear power station leaks high levels of radioactive waste into Baltic

A nuclear power station at Forsmark, north of Stockholm, has leaked high levels of radioactive caesium into the Baltic Sea, reported Swedish Radio.

Measurements are 10 times greater than normal but the Swedish State Radiation Protection Authority said the levels are still well below the risk zone. The agency said it appears that storage tanks for low and medium-level radioactive wastes have corroded, and the wastes have leaked into the drainage system.

Swedes voted in a referendum in 1980 to phase out nuclear power, but the main political parties are currently at loggerheads over the country's nuclear future with some parties arguing for an extension to the life of existing power stations.

Source: Forbes