Earthquakes, break-in, raise nuclear safety questions

Written 22/05/2008

Two stories this week show the vulnerability and risks posed by both military and civilian nuclear facilities

Sweden: Men held over nuclear scare

SWEDISH police detained two men on suspicion of planning to sabotage a nuclear power station today after one of them was discovered entering it with small amounts of a highly explosive material. 22 May 2008, Herald-Sun (Melbourne, Australia)

China: earthquake concerns for nuclear installations

CHINA ordered its atomic weapons industry to be ready for an “environmental emergency” after the May 2008 earthquake struck nuclear weapons storage and research facilities. . . .The announcement followed growing international concern over the safety of nuclear installations in the earthquake zone. China stores some of its vast arsenal of warheads in Sichuan province, which is also home to several reactors and two plutonium plants. . . Full story: Sunday Times 18th May 2008 (UK)

MAJOR military nuclear production sites are located in Sichuan. See details in Sunday Telegraph 18th May 2008 (UK)

China has examined and confirmed the safety of nuclear power reactors after an earthquake that killed an estimated 50,000 people. AFX (Xinhua) 18th May 2008