At least 26 serious accidents have occurred at Northvolt's facilities since 2019, reports Dagens Nyheter. A fatal accident in November last year is being investigated by prosecutors.
A 25-year-old man, who was to maintain a machine, suffered severe burns in an explosion and later died in hospital.
According to the chief safety representative, there was previously concern among staff that a fire would break out on site, and therefore demands for better protective clothing had been made. However, according to Northvolt's internal risk analysis, there was no risk of explosion.
If he had had the right protective clothing, he probably wouldn't have had to die. Now he was wearing protective clothing against chemicals, not against fire, says prosecutor Christer B Jarlås to DN.
The newspaper has gone through documents from the Work Environment Authority, the police, and within the company, which show that the same type of work environment deficiencies have recurred, despite being previously noted during inspections.
There have been machines that didn't stop even though the emergency stop was pressed. In the ceiling, sprinklers that are needed in case of fire have previously been missing, comments chief safety representative Mikael Stenmark, IF Metall, to DN.
At the same time, potential links between three unexplained deaths are being investigated by the police. Three men have been found dead after their work shifts at Northvolt's battery factory on separate occasions.
