A nuclear plant in Finland plans to build an additional safety system that can cool its reactors and spent fuel pools in the event they lose access to sea water.
The Loviisa plant in the south of the country draws its water from the Baltic Sea. Following the so-called stress tests of safety at reactors in the European Union in response to the Fukushima Daiichi accidents in Japan, Finnish regulators began looking at air cooling towers for emergencies. On Wednesday, plant owner Fortum announced Hungary's GEA EGI Contracting/Engineering Co. will provide towers for each Loviisa reactor and SFP next year to augment other backup systems.
After several years of development, Fortum engineered towers in rectangular buildings about 30 feet tall. They will be capable of removing decay heat in the event that an oil spill, algae blooms or an extreme accident cuts off access to the sea. According to Finnish regulators, both pressurized water reactors at the site are based on the Russian VVER 440 design.