Brazil starts uranium enrichment
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Monday, 8 May 2006: 00.14 CET) - Brazil has inaugurated a uranium enrichment center intended to create fuel for the South American country's power plants.
The opening of the center on Sunday follows long negotiations with the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in which Brazil agreed to a system of safeguards to ensure the center would not be used to produce nuclear weapons.
In 2004, Brazilian officials refused to let UN inspectors into certain parts of the facility, ostensibly to protect civilian nuclear technology secrets.
Science and Technology Minister Sergio Rezende says that Brazil is committed to peaceful use of nuclear energy.
He said Brazil's enrichment center would save millions of dollars the country now spends to enrich fuel at Urenco, the European enrichment consortium.
Brazil has the world's sixth-largest uranium reserves, but has been unable to use the fuel for energy without shipping it to and from Urenco.
The opening of the center on Sunday follows long negotiations with the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in which Brazil agreed to a system of safeguards to ensure the center would not be used to produce nuclear weapons.
In 2004, Brazilian officials refused to let UN inspectors into certain parts of the facility, ostensibly to protect civilian nuclear technology secrets.
Science and Technology Minister Sergio Rezende says that Brazil is committed to peaceful use of nuclear energy.
He said Brazil's enrichment center would save millions of dollars the country now spends to enrich fuel at Urenco, the European enrichment consortium.
Brazil has the world's sixth-largest uranium reserves, but has been unable to use the fuel for energy without shipping it to and from Urenco.
posted by Marko at 5/08/2006 08:18:00 AM
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