Environmentalists criticized on Thursday (06), at a public hearing of the Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, the government's intention to construct nuclear power plants in the Northeast region of Brazil. Besides the completion of Angra 3, the Brazilian nuclear program plans to build four power plants to generate electricity by 2030. Two of them would be in the Northeast region, possibly in Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas and Pernambuco.
The coordinator of Greenpeace, André Amaral, criticized the lack of government transparency in conducting the matter: "There are major setbacks: the resumption of nuclear program along the lines of dictatorship, as it has been done; the fact of not considering safety before any expansion plan, the investment in nuclear power in time of climate crisis, and disrespect to the public view. Expand the nuclear program the way it has been proposed is an irreparable mistake”.
 

Congress Review
The president of Eletronuclear, Othon Pinheiro da Silva, said that the locations of future power plants are being suggested to the Executive branch in accordance with strictly technical criteria. He also reminded that the final word on the location will be up to Congress, according to the Constitution.
"We intend to develop a menu of possible options for the Executive branch to select one and send the proposal to Congress. Certainly, the location to be suggested will meet all requirements that are more demanding", said Pinheiro.
He recalled that Brazil heavily depends on energy, especially given the dramatic process of urbanization and industrialization of the country: "With the GDP growth forecast of 5% per year, 3000 to 4000 megawatts are required on the electrical grid per year, resulting in a new Itaipu plant in every three or four years, adding all sources”.
He said the nuclear mode is already the second largest source of electricity generation in Brazil. From April 2009 to March 2010, it was responsible for 3% of the generation of the National Interconnected System, second only to hydroelectric power, which represents 93.5% of the total.
Environmental damage
During the debate, Paulo Jackson Movement for Ethics, Justice and Citizenship exposed a series of social and environmental damage allegedly caused by uranium mining in Caetité, Bahia. Sergio Dialetachi, advisor of the movement, said the population is against the plant and that the state already pays a high price for the nuclear activity.
"The so-called yellow cake, the first improvement made in uranium, is a uranium concentrate powder that goes to Canada and to Europe to be enriched, and goes across the entire state of Bahia. The dock worker is not qualified to handle radioactive cargo and he has performed this kind of work”, alerted Dialetachi.
Moreover, he said that the ships go through a federal environmental protection area, the Baía de Todos os Santos, where transporting radioactive material is prohibited. "The population of the Northeast region is concerned. Research shows that between 85% and 90% of inhabitants oppose the installation of nuclear plants”, he noted. He added that the laws of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas and Pernambuco prohibit the installation of nuclear plants.
 

Report - José Carlos Oliveira/Rádio Câmara

Edition – João Pitella Junior