Explosives Found Near Sweden Nuclear Plant

Sweden raised the security alert for the country's three nuclear power plants today after explosives were found on a truck at the southwestern Ringhals atomic power station. Police said they were investigating possible sabotage. Bomb sniffer dogs detected the explosives during a routine check yesterday afternoon by security staff while the truck was in the power plant's industrial area near its high security enclosure. Bomb technicians said the material lacked a detonating device, meaning there was no danger of an explosion.

A police spokesman says the driver of the truck had been unaware of the explosives placed in the vehicle and was not suspected of being involved. "An outsider has obviously placed them on the truck," he adds. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said the explosive material was found on the truck "en route from the Ringhals industrial park into a protected area ... and did not enter the facility." Ringhals officials said an explosion on the truck would not have caused "any serious damage" to the site but did not elaborate on how they came to that assessment. (More Sweden stories.)