Plant Security Foils Attempt to Smuggle Explosives Inside Swedish Nuclear Plant

When I first got into the office this morning, the headline that jumped out at me immediately was the news the security team at the Ringhals nuclear plant in Sweden had foiled an attempt to smuggle explosives into the facility.

The bottom line here: plant security functioned exactly as it should have. As NucNet reported: "The explosive did not enter the facility and there was no risk of an explosion because there was no detonation device." According to Vattenfall, the operator of the plant, the amount of explosives that were found were too small to cause any meaningful damage. Nevertheless, alert levels at Sweden's two other nuclear plants, Forsmark and Oskarshamn, have been raised, and Swedish police are currently investigating the whereabouts of the fork lift before it arrived at the plant.

America's nuclear plants have always been secure, and are among the best protected pieces of industrial infrastructure in this country -- and that's all the more the case since 9-11. For more information on exactly what the industry has done since 9-11 to enhance security at America's nuclear power plants, click here to watch a video we shot last year with Exelon Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Mike Pacilio.

Photo of Ringhals by Vattenfall.