Swedish man arrested for trying to build nuclear reactor in kitchen

Swedish authorities have placed a man in custody after he was discovered when seeking advice from authorities on the legality of building a nuclear reactor in his kitchen.

The man started his experiment about six months ago and had been open about his plans to construct a nuclear reactor in his flat, even keeping a blog of his nuclear adventure.

The man explained that his fascination with nuclear physics was awakened as a teenager so he ordered some radioactive material from overseas and acquired more by taking apart a household fire alarm.

His activities only came to the attention of the police a couple of weeks ago when he contacted the Swedish Radiation Authority to inquire if it was legal to construct a nuclear reactor at home. They told the man that someone would be sent to measure the levels of radiation in his flat.

"When they came they had the police with them. I have had a Geiger counter and have not detected a problem with radiation," the 31-year-old told Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD) a local newspaper.

The man was arrested by the police and taken in for questioning. He admitted to his plans and was later released. Speaking to the newspaper he admitted that had he succeeded in building a nuclear reactor, generating power would probably have proved too difficult.

"To get it to generate electricity you would need a turbine and a generator and that is very difficult to build yourself," he told HD.

The man reportedly spent around 6,000 kronor (€660) on his experiment and after he had all his equipment was seized in the raid, he has confirmed that he intends to focus on the "theoretical" aspects of nuclear physics in the future.