Brazil Announces Uranium Enrichment Plans

Brazil will begin enriching uranium in 2004 for its civilian nuclear energy program and could possibly export uranium in coming years, Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Roberto Amaral said Monday (see GSN, Jan. 14).

The United States and Argentina are likely to be concerned about the Brazilian move and Brasilia’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.

The decision was endorsed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to Amaral.

“This is something that could not be decided against the president’s will,” Amaral said.

If Brazil begins enrichment it could potentially produce a nuclear weapon, but a presidential spokesman said the country’s nuclear research is “solely and exclusively for peaceful purposes.”

In the 1980s, Brazilian officials announced that they had the capability to enrich uranium, but they have not done so to date. By 2014, Brazil wants to produce enough uranium for the country’s two nuclear power plants and export the surplus, according to Amaral (Reuters/Forbes, Oct. 6).

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