The Radiation Safety Centre (STUK) began an extraordinary inspection at the Olkiluoto nuclear power reactor construction site -- just as a strike warning was issued for workers at the site. The inspection is aimed at checking whether safety procedures at the site of Finland's fifth commercial reactor site match descriptions supplied by the utility TVO. STUK officials are interviewing workers at the site. A recent YLE television current-affairs programme claimed that employees had been doing welding work without proper instruction and that they were forbidden from speaking with anyone about the issue. However STUK said on Friday that it did not see a need for any additional inspections of Olkiluoto 3 by international bodies. Ministry Demands New Report On Thursday, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy demanded a report on working standards from STUK -- the second such report requested within two days. In light of recent criticisms of allegedly shoddy work and poor supervision, the government has asked STUK to submit a report on how work at Olkiluoto measures up to international standards. This demand came a day after STUK submitted a report to the Ministry defending against allegations of sub-par welding and insufficient supervision. STUK: No Shortcomings In its first report, STUK said it has monitored all welding work systematically and no shortcomings were found in planning or carrying out the project. However it admitted minor deficiencies in the monitoring of assembly welding. The YLE programme claimed that the French firm Bouygues Travaux Publics, which is in charge of the construction, had forbidden workers to talk about the construction progress with anyone. Strike Warning Issued
Meanwhile the Finnish Construction Trade Union issued a strike warning for the Olkiluoto 3 building site on Tuesday.
It says that there are irregularities surrounding the pay and conditions for the 300 Polish construction workers hired for Bouygues Travaux Publics by subcontractor Rimec Ltd. For instance, says the union, the company has refused to explain how the builders' taxes and social security payments are being handled.
A potential strike would begin on September 10th.