Warning system for nuclear plants
The warning system around the three Swedish nuclear power stations consists of both outdoor and indoor alarms.
Outdoor alarms
Around each nuclear power station, there are around 100 sirens positioned in both the inner and outer emergency zones. These are the same sirens as in the outdoor warning system used for VMA (Important Public Announcements).
The sirens are activated from the nuclear power station’s control centre. When an alert is issued, the transmitters sound for seven seconds, followed by 14 seconds of silence, and this pattern is then repeated.
When you hear the signal and it is not a quarterly test, you should:
- Go indoors
- Close doors, windows and ventilation
- Tune in to Sveriges Radio P4 for further information
Indoor alarms
All households in the emergency preparedness zones have a special warning receiver connected to the RDS system via Sveriges Radio.
The receivers sound a loud alarm, after which you will hear a message from Sveriges Radio telling you what to do. The warning receiver displays the type of alarm: a test alarm, an emergency alert or an accident alarm.
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 sound and the P4 channel will start automatically. Sveriges Radio will read out a short message stating that it is a test alarm.
If you live or work within the emergency response zones
If you live or work within the emergency response zone, you need to be prepared and know what to do if the alarm sounds. Read more about how you can prepare for an accident via the link below.
Sources
Sources
Krisinformation.se gathers information from Swedish authorities. All source pages are in Swedish.