EXPLAINED: What kind of state are Sweden's bomb shelters in?

 

No one really knows.

 

Ahead of the invasion of Ukraine, the Civil Contingencies Agency only had sufficient funding to inspect 2,000 a year. In 2020, only about 20 percent of Sweden's 64,000 shelters had been inspected in the preceding ten years, and of those, only 9,000 had passed. This suggests that at least 30 percent are not up to scratch. 

 

Many of the bomb shelters are currently used as cycle sheds or storage for the people who live in the buildings where they are situated. 

 

The agency insists, however, that "most of the shelters are fully useable" even though they may have failed an inspection and it says it expects bomb shelters to be used for other purposes during peacetime.

 

 

They are designed to protect citizens against the shock wave from a bomb, shrapnel, fires, ionising radiation, and debris from collapsing buildings. They also have ventilation systems to keep out poison gasses and radioactive dust. 

 

 

 

Property owners are responsible for maintaining and equipping any bomb shelters on their properties. They are supposed to be able to convert the spaces into functional bomb shelters within 48 hours.

 

Kaj Lindblom, one of the two leaders of Skyddsrumsspecialisten, which has built, maintained, and renovated bomb shelters since 1973, told The Local that his company estimated that only five percent of bomb shelters could be ready within this time. 

 

About half, he said, lack functional ventilation, with many still having the same filters in place as when they were built in the 1940s. Many also still have paper toilets dating back to the 1960s and earlier (which are used in conjunction with plastic bags), rather than the more modern plastic bucket toilets. The paper toilets, he said, need to be replaced. 

 

Another common problem, he said, was that non-specialist builders often drill through the walls of bomb shelters to bring in water or electricity, and have often not done this in the right way, losing the rooms their protective functions. 

 

"There have been too few checks, and property owners have had too low a level of knowledge on what their responsibilities are," he told The Local. "They've also expected that the Civil Contingencies Agency will not check shelters". 

 

 

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Swedish bomb shelters and where to find them

 

 

Nope. 

 

Sweden stopped building bomb shelters in 2002, and the number of places has not kept pace with the increased size of the population. The 64,000 bomb shelters only offer sufficient places for about seven million of Sweden's 10 million people, and many city districts built since 2002 entirely lack shelters. 

 

Each bomb shelter is designed to provide only 0.75 square metres per person -- about 85cm by 85cm -- so while you will be protected, you won't be comfortable. 

 

They are designed to be stayed in for at least 72 hours. 

 

 

 

The Civil Contingencies Agency is sending out a brochure to the owners of all properties which house a bomb shelter with a checklist specifying what condition the shelter needs to be in, and what equipment needs to be available.

 

Much of the information is available here. 

 

"It's most often just a case of quite simple maintenance," Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, the Civil Contingencies Agency's Director-General, told Sweden's TT newswire. "Putting some oil on the hinges, doing some rust treatment, and making sure the bomb shelter equipment is available." 

 

The agency has also called for some of the 800 million kronor in extra civil defence spending announced last month to go towards renovating the largest bomb shelters in major cities. 

 

On top of this, the government has launched an inquiry into whether the country needs to build new bomb shelters, with the conclusions due on November 7th. 

 

Skyddsrumsspecialisten has designed a free-standing bomb shelter that can be erected in newly built areas of Swedish cities, where they will double as an additional cycle shelter or recycling room. 

 

 

 

According to the Civil Contingencies Agency, all bomb shelters need to feature the following equipment: 

• an air lock 
• shelter doors,
• a threshold - fixed or mountable
• an alternative exit, made from concrete or with a steel hatch
• a ventilation unit
• protective filters
• pressure relief valves 
• a shock wave valve - one per ventilation unit
• supply air ducts
• a heating device
• lighting
• capture devices for lighting fixtures and heating elements
• sealing strips for doors. These strips must be stored in a package in peacetime
• taps, drains on the floor, a vent, and for shelters built after 1961, a key to open and close the drain. 
• toilet walls, a toilet, and water barrels
• tools for dismantling any equipment or furniture in place for peacetime use and getting the shelter ready. 
• instructions for assembling, operating, and maintaining the shelter