Since 2018, uranium mining has been prohibited in Sweden. But now the Minister of the Environment wants to change the law so that it will be allowed to mine uranium in Sweden.
– I think we need uranium mines in Sweden, says Romina Pourmokhtari (L) to SVT.
Uranium needed for nuclear power
The background is that the government has decided on a nuclear expansion, which means increased demand for uranium. But the Minister for the Environment also believes that uranium and other minerals needed for fossil-free conversion should be mined in Sweden.
Upset in Berg municipality
In Berg municipality there is a lot of alum shale, which contains uranium, but also other sought-after metals such as vanadium. Here are residents who have fought against the mining of alum shale for a long time. After the Environment Minister's statement, Lena Fernlund in Västeråsen is one of those outraged.
"In the small it is about farms that would have to be redeemed, in the big it would be a disaster if Storsjön were contaminated," she says.
But if you are going to have nuclear power, isn't it better to mine the uranium in Sweden then?
"You might like that if you're a nuclear advocate. But from the information I have received, the uranium will still not end up in the Swedish nuclear power plants.
Expected message and disaster – in the video you can see how Lena Fernlund, resident of Västeråsen and Anders Olof Öhlén, administrator at Berg municipality
reacts to the Minister of the Environment's message.