If you live near a nuclear power station

In Sweden, the nuclear power stations are located in

• Forsmark, Uppsala County
• Oskarshamn, Kalmar County
• Ringhals, Halland County.

How to prepare

There is an inner and an outer preparedness zone around the nuclear power stations, extending approximately five and 25 kilometres respectively. If you live or work within these preparedness zones, you should be prepared and familiar with certain routines.

Warnings and alarms

Outdoor alarms

Around each nuclear power station, there are around 100 sirens deployed in both the inner and outer preparedness zones. These are the same sirens used for VMA (Important Public Announcements). The sirens are activated from the nuclear power station’s control centre. In case of an alert, the sirens sound for seven seconds, followed by 14 seconds of silence, and this sequence is then repeated.

When you hear the warning signal and it is not a quarterly drill, you should:

• Go indoors
• Close doors, windows and ventilation systems
• Listen to Sveriges Radio P4 for further information

Indoor alarms

All households in the preparedness zones have a special warning receiver connected to the RDS system via Sveriges Radio. RDS stands for Radio Data System and is also used in car radios.

The receivers alert you with a loud signal, followed by a message from Sveriges Radio telling you what to do. The warning receiver displays the type of alerts it is transmitting: a test alert, an emergency alert or an accident alert.

The warning receivers are tested every quarter on the first Monday that is not a public holiday at 7.00 pm, on the same day as the VMA sirens are tested. A low-volume signal will then be broadcasted and the P4 station will start automatically. Sveriges Radio will read out a short message stating that it is a test alarm.

Ioädine tablets

The County Administrative Board is responsible for ensuring that everyone living within the preparedness zones has access to iodine tablets. If you live in a preparedness zone and do not have any iodine tablets, you should contact your County Administrative Board.

Protects the body against radiation

Taking iodine in tablet form is one way to protect the body during a radioactive spill. If you already have iodine in your body, your thyroid gland will not absorb the radioactive iodine from a spill. This is especially important for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, because the thyroid gland is more sensitive in children and fetuses than in adults. On the other hand, studies show that people over 40 are not at risk of developing thyroid cancer from radioactive iodine. For adults over 40, iodine tablets therefore have no benefits. Iodine tablets should not be given to animals either.

Must be taken at the right time

Iodine tablets must be taken at the right time and only when instructed to do so by the county administrative board. If you take the iodine tablets too early or too late, their effectiveness will be reduced.

Find out more about radiation on the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority’s website

Evacuation

If the alarm goes off

• Go indoors and stay there. You have better protection indoors than outdoors.
• Close doors, windows and ventilation systems. This will prevent contaminated air from entering.
• Listen to your local Sveriges Radio P4 station. There you will hear what has happened and what you should do. Also read the information on Krisinformation.se
• Help others. For example, let people who need shelter come inside.
• Do not go outside until an announcement that the danger is over has been broadcast on Sveriges Radio P4 or via outdoor warning sirens.
• Continue to follow authorities' recommendations. This may, for example, concern evacuation of everyone living in a specific area.