Brazil Shows Reluctance to Allow Stringent Nuclear Inspections

Although Brazil has declared it is planning to produce enriched uranium by the middle of next year, a Brazilian official said the country is unwilling to allow more rigorous U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 7).

Brazilian officials insist they are developing a peaceful nuclear program, but they are unwilling to sign the Additional Protocol to Brazil’s nuclear safeguards agreement — which would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct more intrusive monitoring of Brazil’s nuclear activities.

“All we’ve got are a couple itty-bitty reactors,” Roberto Amaral, the Brazilian minister of science and technology, said this month.  “It is necessary to be worried about what goes on out there, not here,” he added.

The U.N. nuclear agency has not taken a firm stand on Brazil’s nuclear development.

“We are working and have been working for some time with the government and authorities in Brazil to develop an appropriate verification regime for this new facility,” said IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky (Larry Rohter, New York Times, Dec. 28).

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