the building of the nuclear plant at Olkiluoto. The increase of industrial production was not fully without problems, however. Especially the area around Harjavalta copper-nickel smelting plant suffered heavily from acid rain and Kokemäenjoki became heavily polluted. These problems have been controlled to large extent since the 1980s.

Since the 1990s, the traditional industries of the region have more or less stagnated and the relative importance of her cities has