RIO DE JANEIRO – The publicity stirred up around the inspection of a Brazilian uranium enrichment plant is a "fabricated controversy" that could be aimed at hindering the national development of the nuclear power industry.
This allegation, put forward by physicist Aquilino Senra Martínez, is based on his contention that the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could monitor Brazil’s production of nuclear fuel without visually inspecting all of the equipment involved in the process.
At the moment, Brazil’s refusal to allow inspectors access to certain equipment in the plant could prevent it from receiving the IAEA approval it needs to move forward with its nuclear power program.
Past experience has also contributed to these suspicions. Martínez, a graduate school professor of engineering at the University of Sao Paolo, told IPS about the difficulties faced by Brazil in the 1980s in purchasing supercomputers, due to claims that they could be used for the production of long-range nuclear weapons.
The U.S. ban on the sale of this technology to Brazil seriously hampered the development of the South American nation’s aeronautical industry. The country was also forced to install the headquarters of its meteorological forecasting center outside Sao José dos Campos, the Brazilian aerospace technology capital, 100 km (62 mi.) from Sao Paolo, in order to have access to a supercomputer.
Brazil has developed new technology for enriching uranium that is still at the pilot, not commercial, stage, Martínez stressed. In order to produce enough fuel to supply all of the country’s nuclear power plants, thousands of the new Brazilian-designed centrifuges would be needed, and this would require importing a great many components, he added.
The doubts raised as to the purely peaceful objectives of Brazil’s nuclear program could hinder its ability to import the necessary equipment and components, and this, Martínez believes, is the whole reason behind the "fabricated controversy."
Three IAEA inspectors concluded a three-day visit to Brazil’s nuclear facilities on Wednesday. They held meetings with the country’s National Nuclear Energy Commission, and spent over six hours on Tuesday at the plant in Resende, 160 km (99 mi.) from Rio de Janeiro, where uranium is enriched to produce fuel.
The Brazilian government, however, would not allow a visual inspection of the centrifuges used in the enrichment process, arguing the need to protect industrial secrets. The innovative, cost-reducing technology was hidden behind panels during the inspectors’ visit so as not to reveal the number, size and shape of the machines.
Now the IAEA will have to decide, based on the inspectors’ report, whether it will accept the restrictions imposed by Brazil and move on to the next stage, a more detailed inspection two weeks from now to fully determine that the plant is used solely to produce energy, and not for nuclear weapons.
Brazil has been refusing an unrestricted inspection since April, and this has led to speculation over possible irregularities, such as the illegal acquisition of "black market" components from Pakistan. The government hopes that the small concessions made to the inspection team will be enough to satisfy the UN agency.
Without IAEA approval, which the government hopes to receive next month, Brazil would not be able to produce fuel for its two nuclear power plants.
Edson Kuramoto, the director of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Association, which represents 1,200 technicians from this sector, told IPS that Brazil has the right to protect its technology. The country has never opposed an inspection, he explained, but is simply negotiating the procedures involved, something that is perfectly normal in the case of new facilities.
The initial goal for Brazil’s uranium enrichment program is to achieve self-sufficiency in supplying fuel for its own nuclear power plants, which would allow it to save the $14 million annually that is currently spent on importing fuel.
The construction of a third nuclear power plant, currently under study by the government, would increase domestic demand to a scale that would make it economically viable to carry out the entire nuclear cycle, from mining to enriching the uranium for use as fuel, right in Brazil. This has long been a goal of the sector, Kuramoto noted.
Brazil has been insisting on the right to keep its new technology a secret because it claims that the centrifuges it has developed are more efficient and consume less energy.
There are currently only five countries in the world – the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Russia – that produce nuclear fuel, Kuramoto noted, and their plants have been in operation for many years.
Because Brazil’s uranium enrichment plant is much more recent and uses brand new technology, it is only natural that it would be more efficient, he asserted.
For his part, Martínez paraphrased, "He who does it last does it best," whether in computers or any other industry. As a result, the entry of a new competitor like Brazil into this exclusive club poses a threat to those who currently control the market, and will obviously meet with resistance, he added.
Given its large uranium deposits, Brazil has the potential to be a major player in the world nuclear fuel market, he said.
