Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK says that the nation's nuclear power plants are not particularly susceptible to operational faults, even though units at both the Loviisa and Olkiluoto facilities are again experiencing problems.
Two of Finland's five nuclear reactors are currently out of operation. The outages at Olkiluoto 3 and Loviisa 2 are putting pressure on electricity prices, but nuclear safety has not been affected.
Niko Mononen, Deputy Director of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, says that contrary to popular belief, Finland's nuclear power plants are not particularly prone to failure.
"Despite recent news reports and public perception, Finnish plants are in good condition. Even minor faults are reported in the media, but in the event of any problems, the plants have operated as designed, and safely," Mononen told Yle on Tuesday.
According to Mononen, there have been no situations in which nuclear safety has been compromised at Finnish nuclear power plants.
Two reactors out of service
Electricity production at unit 2 of the Loviisa nuclear power plant was interrupted on Monday evening due to a reactor shutdown. The fault was caused by a malfunction in the reactor's auxiliary system. As of Tuesday, the exact cause of the failure was still under investigation. The plant's owner-operator, Fortum, estimates that the reactor will be back in use again on Thursday, November 21.
Power production at the Olkiluoto plant's unit 3 was interrupted early Sunday evening due to a turbine failure. According to the power plant company TVO, the problem was caused by a malfunction in the generator seal oil system.
Repairs at Olkiluoto are taking longer than initially estimated.
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