Revised emergency zones to be implemented at Swedish plants

The Swedish government has approved a Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) proposal to implement new emergency preparedness zones around atomic power plants by July 2022. Internal and external emergency zones also as a planning zone are going to be set at a radius of 5, 25 and 100 km, respectively.

Emergency planning zones and distances are areas during which protective actions are prepared. These preparations give capacity for implementation of effective protective measures for the overall public in reference to an emergency. During an emergency situation, prepared protective actions could also be implemented fully , partially or not in the least , counting on the event and therefore the actions’ feasibility.

In October 2015, the Swedish government commissioned SSM to perform a review of emergency planning zones and distances applying to activities involving ionising radiation. This was wiped out consultation with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, relevant county administrative boards and therefore the other authorities and stakeholders concerned.

In November 2017, SSM presented a report back to the govt during which it proposed that the emergency planning zones and distances for activities involving radiation should be changed. It involved Swedish atomic power plants to be surrounded by a precautionary action zone (PAZ) and an urgent protective action planning zone (UPZ) also as an extended planning distance (EPD), extending about 5, 25 and 100 km, respectively. For Westinghouse’s fuel fabrication plant in Västerås, SSM recommended a UPZ of about 700 m round the plant. The regulator also said there should be a two-kilometre EPD round the Clab central interim storage facility for used fuel . SSM said the changes are important “in order to enhance the feasibility of implementing effective protective actions within the event of a nuclear accident”.

The government has now adopted a replacement Civil Protection Ordinance, which suggests that the emergency planning zones and distances for nuclear facilities are to be changed in accordance with SSM’s proposal. The new emergency planning zones and distances are to be implemented in Swedish contingency planning no later than 1 July, 2022.

“It’s good that the emergency planning zones and distances are being changed which the problems identified within the 2017 report are being addressed,” said Jan Johansson, a specialist at SSM. “It will improve the chances of implementing effective protective actions within the event of a nuclear accident.”