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Did a Nuclear Power Plant Explosion Detonate In 2022 at Sweden's Ringhals 4 Nuclear Reactor?

Message Robert A. Leishear, PhD, PE, ASME Fellow

Critical nuclear power plant safety equipment was damaged in Sweden, and the only reason provided to the public is that maintenance is more complicated than expected. Explosions have been covered up by the nuclear industry for years. Was there another nuclear power plant explosion?

Figure 1: Two operating pressurized water reactors are installed at Rnghals.
Figure 1: Two operating pressurized water reactors are installed at Rnghals.
(Image by Vattenfall)
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Ringhals 4 Reactor System Damages

There are many reports in the press about the Ringhals 4 reactor system damages (Figure 1), but I cannot find any technical details about what happened at this plant. That is, the technical details of reactor safety-equipment damages have not been revealed to the public.

'Vattenfall [the Swedish power company] had already extended ongoing maintenance at Ringhals 4, which has an installed capacity of 1,130 (MW) by three months at the end of August, citing damages to a key component during testing' ("Sweden's Ringhals 4 nuclear outage extends into winter months", click here).

Figure 2: Ringhals 4, Possible reactor system explosion locations.
Figure 2: Ringhals 4, Possible reactor system explosion locations.
(Image by Adapted from Vattenfall)
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Ringhals 4 Pressurizer Damages

Reports in the press provided conflicting information about whether the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) or pressurizer were damaged (Figure 2). Updated information concludes that the pressurizer was damaged.

'Vattenfall said in September the damage to the pressure vessel pressurizer forced Ringhals to build a full-size mock-up of the 12-metre-tall (39 feet) structure for training before repairs could take place' ("Sweden's Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor outage extended to March 19", click here).

A full-scale model of the nearly 13-meter high-RPV pressurizer is being built to test the tools and rehearse the operation. 'The pressure vessel pressurizer is radioactive, all work is carefully prepared, and practicing in a test environment helps us work safely and efficiently when we are ready to carry out the actual repair work', Linde said in the press release. Vattenfall extends outage of Sweden's Ringhals 4, Click Here.

An unanswered request was sent to Vattenfall:

'Different newspapers state that damages occurred in the pressurizer or the RPV. Would you confirm which one was damaged? Are there available damage reports or damage photos? I am concerned that there may have been an explosion in the reactor system, and such information is important'.

The Secretary General of Nucnet advised that the plant operator, Vattenfall, confirmed that the pressurizer was damaged - not the RPV ("Sweden / Ringhals-4 Restart Delayed As Work Continues On 'Extensive' Damage To Pressuriser", Click Here).

The Secretary stated that, 'We were in contact with Vattenfall this morning and they confirmed it was about the [pressurizer] and not the RPV', 1/30/2023.

In accordance with this updated information, the Ringhals 4 pressurizer was damaged.

2022 Nuclear Reactor Pressurizer Explosion Damages?

Pressurizer damages are important, in that, a 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) explosion detonated in the pressurizer, or pressurizer piping, due to compression of flammable hydrogen and heating to detonate hydrogen during water additions to a nuclear reactor ("Blasting Into Our Lives - The Three Mile Island Explosion Cover-up: TV, Myths, and Reality", click here).

The type of test that caused the 2022 Ringhals 4 pressurizer damage, and details of those damages, have not been released to the press, i.e., information is being withheld from the public. However, if a startup test using nuclear fuel was performed, an explosion similar to Three Mile Island was probable, yet smaller than the TMI explosions.

'In connection with a mandatory test at start-up after the month-long shutdown, the plant's pressure vessel pressurizer was damaged, the company said in a separate statement on Wednesday' ("Restart of Sweden's Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor delayed to end of November", click here).

2015 Nuclear Reactor Core Explosion Damages?

Also, in 'a 2015 outage, fuel leakage was cited as a cause for maintenance requirements'. ("Uprate approved for Ringhals 4", click here). Note that fuel leaks can also be caused by small reactor hydrogen explosions in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Again, sufficient information is unavailable to the public to prove whether or not an explosion detonated at the reactor core inside the 7.87-inch-thick, steel RPV.

Nuclear Power Plant Explosions

Op Eds and engineering journal articles have been published to alert the public to the fact that many nuclear power plant explosions have been covered up by the nuclear industry and government regulators ("Nuclear Threats - Part 5 - An Incoming Nuclear Plant Explosion Disaster- Zaporizhzhia Near Missed This Next Disaster"; "One More Government Cover-up: The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Reactor System Explosions and Resultant Leak"). Nuclear reactor system hydrogen explosions detonate in reactor pressure vessels, piping, and the pressurizer.

Documented in a series of 30 publications, the facts are clear that nuclear power plant hydrogen explosions ignite during plant startups when startups are not properly controlled (.leishearengineeringllc.com/publications.html).

Ringhals 4, 2022 Explosion Confirmation?

There was a probable recent explosion. There was also a probable water hammer-pressure spike to ignite that explosion. We should be informed of important nuclear safety system failure causes.

If such an explosion detonated, measurable evidence may be available. If seismometers are installed at the plant to monitor for earthquakes, explosions may have been measured. If accelerometers are installed on pumps to measure machinery vibrations, explosions may have been measured. Typical pressure and temperature instruments would not likely have recorded an explosion, or explosions.

Further Investigation is Needed to Ensure Nuclear Reactor Safety

A thorough investigation is warranted, starting with an evaluation of seismic data, if available, for the date and times of Ringhals 4 reactor testing in June 2022. Facility log books should provide the date and time of testing for comparison to seismic data.

Note that seismometers measured explosions at Fukushima Daiichi ("Expert View: Water Hammers Exploded the Nuclear Power Plants at Fukushima Daiichi", click here). In fact, seismometer data has potential for identifying small explosions in nuclear reactors around the globe.

The failure cause for nuclear safety equipment should be revealed to the public. If there was an explosion, we should be informed, since nuclear power plant explosions can yield explosive international disasters like Fukushima Daiichi.

Misinformation or Disinformation?

Are reactor operators improperly informed of nuclear reactor system explosion dangers ("Stop A Potential Radioactive Europe and Russia - A Letter To Energoatom, The Ukraine Nuclear Power Company")?

Is there an ongoing cover-up of a nuclear power plant explosion in Sweden?

Addendum

The following unanswered email was forwarded to The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and Vattenfall immediately after publication of this article.

'Ringhals 4 Explosion Probability

Available evidence supports the conclusion that explosions detonated at the Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor. This opinion is documented in an Op Ed, titled "Was There A Nuclear Power Plant Explosion Last Year At Sweden's Ringhals 4 Nuclear Reactor?" This Op Ed was based on multiple peer-reviewed engineering journal publications.

Please provide further information on Ringhals 4, June 2022, testing and pressurizer damages. Please provide seismic data or pump accelerometer data for this date if available. Additional information is also requested for the 2015 Ringhals 4 reactor fuel damages, i.e., damage photos and/or operating conditions at the time of damages plus siesmic or accelerometer data.. Such information can validate explosion detonations.

Comments are welcome'.

An Explosion Cover-up Begins

In short, Swedish authorities were requested to provide information to the public to validate that there was an explosion at the Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor. Authorities refused.

Such a refusal initiates a cover-up of essential information that should be publicly available. Until authorities address reactor explosion dangers, nuclear reactor operations jeopardize public safety and risk lives.

An earlier publication statistically predicted that the next nuclear power plant explosions will occur before 2039 (Nuclear Power Plants Are Not So Safe: Fluid Transients / Water Hammers, Autoignition, Explosions, Accident Predictions and Ethics, click here). Perhaps that prediction has already been borne out, since Ringhals experience one case of reactor fuel damage and one cause of pressurizer damage. That is, if explosions were the causes, the 2039 nuclear power plant explosion prediction is fact.

(Article changed on Feb 03, 2023 at 11:03 PM EST)

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Robert A. Leishear, PhD, PE, ASME Fellow Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Robert A. Leishear, PhD, P.E., PMP, ASME Fellow, NACE Senior Corrosion Technologist, NACE Senior Internal Piping Corrosion Technologist, AMPP Certified Protective Coatings Inspector, NACE Cathodic Protection Tester, Structural Steel Worker, (more...)
 

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