One of the complicating aspects of nuclear power is the fact that nuclear power stations can be a threat to other countries besides the ones that they are located in. This can make the siting of a nuclear power plant an international concern. Recently, the announcement of the approval of a new nuclear power plant in Finland has stirred resistance in neighboring Sweden.
This last Friday, the Finnish parliament voted about 2 to 1 to approve the construction of the Fennovoima nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, Finland. The nuclear reactor will supplied to the Finns by the Russian state enterprise Rosatom. Rosatom will also provide the fuel for the reactor. If the pending environmental reviews are satisfactory, the reactor may go into operation as soon as 2024.
Swedish environmentalists have been protesting the planned reactor since it was first proposed in 2010. Pyhäjoki, Finland is only ninety four miles from several Swedish cities including Luleå, Piteå and Skellefteå. An anti-nuclear activist from one of the nearby Swedish cities recently said, "This is a very sad day as this is one biggest non-nuclear parts in the whole of Europe. Now they want to ruin it by building a nuclear plant."
One major problem with the proposed reactor is that it will draw cooling water from the sea and return the warmed water to the sea. This will impact marine life in the area of the reactor which means that the sea off nearby Sweden will be impacted. Accidental releases of radioactive materials into the sea in the event of an accident could have catastrophic consequences for marine life.
Regular nuclear plant atmospheric emissions have been defended as safe because they don't rise above natural background radiation. Recently, it has been pointed out that this excuse is based on the average radiation released for a year. In reality, each time a reactor is shut down and opened for refueling, the radiation released is far above normal background and this has been shown to have a negative impact on human health for those who live downwind of the plant. Depending on the prevailing wind directions in the Pyhäjoki area, such future releases might make their way to the nearby Swedish cities.
This area of Sweden depends on tourists for a large part of its economy. With the news that a new nuclear power plant is being built nearby in Finland, there is the possibility of the loss of tourist dollars as tourists choose other destinations. Fukushima has heightened public sensitivity to the dangers posed by a nuclear power reactor.
There is a Finnish energy company named Fortum which has significant commercial interests in Sweden. Recently they announced that they were buying a minority stake in the Fennovoima project. This announcement was met with calls for boycotts by the Swedish environmentalists.
With renewable energy sources becoming competitive with fossil fuel plants and nuclear power plants, the Finns may come to regret their decision to sink billions of dollars into their new nuclear power plant.
Artist's concept of the Fennovoima nuclear power plant:
