* Nuclear Fuel Generation - National Synchrotron Light Laboratory

February 23, 2008

This is top story on front page of today's Folha de S.Paulo, of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Argentina and Brazil have agreed to joint construction of a new nuclear power plant.

November 1, 2007

Brazil considering 2 new n-plants in NE, followed by 2 in SE

Brazil's São Francisco basin is the favored location to build the country's next two 1GW-capacity nuclear plants, said Leonam Guimarães, advisor to federal nuclear power company Eletronuclear. "The region, located equidistance from Recife and Salvador [state capitals of Pernambuco and Bahia, respectively, in Brazil's northeast], would be a fine location to supply the region's two biggest markets," Guimarães said during the 4th Energy Integration Congress in Rio de Janeiro. The region is close to transmission lines and has low population density, he said at the conference, organized by Informa Group and BNamericas.

After building the two nuclear plants in Brazil's northeast, Eletronuclear plans to build two more units in Minas Gerais or Espírito Santo states in the country's southeast, Guimarães said. "Those two 1,000MW sites could be built in locations such as Vitória, Rio Doce or Ipatinga. We cannot build more plants in Angra beyond Angra I, II and III," Guimarães said. Angra III is under development, with construction expected to start in May 2008, while I and II are operational.

[Source: Guilherme Monsanto (Business News Americas), "São Francisco basin favorite site for NE nuclear plants - Brazil",
Business News Americas (Chile), October 31, 2007]

* [2006-05-08] Brazil develops own uranium enrichment technology
Vladimir Planonow, Agencia Brasil

* [2006-05-07] Brazil Unveils Uranium Enrichment Center
Peter Muello, Guardian

* [2006-05-06] Brazil joins world's nuclear club
Steve Kingstone, BBC News

September 1, 2004

* Biodiesel - Brazil test of 30% soybean oil blend showed 16% cleaner, 1% increase in fuel required

* Biodiesel - Brazil research: soybean, castor, palm, sunflower, peanut, and cottonseed oils, plus recycling and jungle fruits

* Biodiesel - cost disadvantage in Brazil will be reduced through scale and local inputs

* Ethanol - Brazil experience

* Biodiesel - B2 fuel (2% biodiesel) will soon be authorized, soon followed by 5% blend

* Biodiesel - Brazil B2 program will require 150,000 hectares

* Biodiesel - Brazil plans to use for electric power plants, too

June 30, 2003

Brazil's economic contraction & foreign investment doldrums

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been pretty successful in pursuing his tight budget and anti-inflation policies. The economic challenge now is to reverse the economic contraction without losing control of inflation. The willingness of investors from other nations to put their capital to work in Brazil is an important unknown, and could determine whether the economy stops contracting sooner rather than later. Compared to the Jan-May period last year, foreign direct investment is down 59 percent, to $3.3-billion. That's more than twice the rate of decline in investment in Mexico over the same period, so it's a pretty good bet there's a strong local component about the drop that won't respond as energetically as one might expect to the next global upturn. The potential for domestic political problems triggered by the economic doldrums is a big deal in Brazil. Today's Wall Street Journal reported that 15,000 people lined up in Rio de Janeiro last week to apply for jobs as garbagemen, "sparking mayhem that ended with police firing tear gas". The journal reporter claims that policy uncertainty in the energy sector is one of the factors scaring off foreign investors. It seems pretty clear that there's no money for new nuclear plant construction in the near future in Brazil. [Ref: Jonathan Karp, "Brazil Struggles To Attract Money For the Long Haul --- Foreign Direct Investment Dives as New Government Grapples With Its Priorities", Wall Street Journal, Jun 30, 2003, p. A14]

May 13, 2003

Angra-3 decision revisited

Brazil's National Energy Policy Council authorized completion of Angra-3, the third nuclear power plant in the country, in September. The authorization is due for review by the new government in May this year. [Ref: Nuclear News, "Early version of review update released", May 2003, p. 53]

Brazil is one of thirteen members of INPRO -- an international project on innovative reactors and fuel cycles. The group's first report is expected in June. The draft characterizes the overall objectives of the project are "to ensure that nuclear energy is available to help meet (global energy) needs of the twenty-first century and contribute to sustainable development; to engage both technology holders and technology users; and to promote innovations in nuclear reactors and fuel cycles to meet expected future requirements in five main areas: economics, safety, environmental impacts, proliferation resistance, and public acceptance." Nuclear News reported that "the 13 nations have provided 17 cost-free experts (CFEs) to work in Vienna and have contributed the roughly $1-million a year operating costs." INPRO was started by IAEA in 2001. Project members have to provide either cash or at least one CFE serving in the secretariat for periods varying from three months to three years. [Ref: Nuclear News, "Innovative reactor project ready for second phase", May 2003, p. 51]

April 3, 2003

France sees Brazil as likely customer for small reactor

Alain Bugat, the new top executive of France's Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), told his nation's parliament today that Brazil is one of the countries most likely to be interested in purchasing a relatvely small reactor that is suitable for power production and desalination of water. [Ref: Ann MacLachlan (McGraw Hill-Paris), "New CEA Head Calls for Building Small PWR for Power, Desalination", Nucleonics Week, April 17, 2003, p. 16]

March 11, 2003

Energy Secretary Abraham recalls 1987 radioactive source incident in Brazil

"We know from experience with accidental releases of radiological sources that they can cause widespread panic, economic hardship, and significant health concerns. Remember Brazil, in 1987. Urban scavengers found a medical teletherapy machine left in an abandoned building. They removed the radioactive source from its shielding, ruptured it, and distributed the beautiful blue, glowing powder they found inside to their friends, neighbors and relatives. The powder was Cesium 137.

"Four people died. More than 110,000 people were monitored for radiation exposure at the city's sports stadium. Scores of buildings were evacuated and some were even demolished. Cleanup costs were enormous.

"The incident generated about 3,500 cubic meters of radioactive waste. Actual fatalities were relatively light in the Brazil incident, but panic was widespread. I can only imagine how much worse the situation would have been had terrorists dispersed the toxic material rather than innocent, uninformed people." [Ref: Spencer Abraham (Secretary of Energy), speech to the International Atomic Energy Agency Conference on the Security of Radioactive Sources, in Vienna, Austria, March 11, 2003, as quoted in Nuclear News, "Quoting at Random", April 2003, p. 15

Brazil may yet join spent fuel return program for research reactors

The USA again urged foreign research reactors with USA-origin fuel to commit to the spent nuclear fuel return program. Laggards risk getting caught in bottlenecks, warned Maureen Clapper of the DOE at the European Nuclear Society's Research Reactor Fuel Management conference in France. NAC's Catherine Anne projected Brazil as one of the nations that might yet join. [Ref: Ann MacLachlan (McGraw Hill-Aix-en-Provence), "Higher Threat Levels Could Halt Shipments of Research Reactor Spent Fuel to U.S.", Nuclear Fuel, March 31, 2003, p. 6]

March 10, 2003

USNRC defers export license for graphite to Brazil

Bulk shipments of nuclear-grade graphite are controlled by the U.S. and other countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to prevent its use as a moderator or reflector material in unsafeguarded reactors. Ê The NRC approved SGL Carbon LLC's export of such graphite to members of the EU and five other countries, but deferred decision on shipments, based on guidance from the Dept of State, to 22 additional countries, including Brazil. Nuclear-grade graphite is defined in 10 CFR 110.2. The SGL graphite had a boron equivalent content of less than 5 ppm and a density greater than 1.5 grams/cc. SGL had previously exported the same graphite product without seeking approval. Their explanation is that they were unaware that they needed permission. The NRC is considering what, if any, enforcement action is warranted. [Ref: Michael Knapik (McGraw Hill-Washington), "NRC issues limited licenses to graphite exporter, weighs penalties", Inside N.R.C, March 10, 2003, p. 13]

February 7, 2003 Brazil not overtly interested in new n-plants, Kienle tells Germans

Friedrich Kienle, former director of VDV (as association of large utilities), told the audience at meeting of German Atomic Forum that Brazil is not overtly enthusiastic about expanding nuclear power capacity. Despite this, he noted, Brazil has joined in the Generation IV plant research program sponsored by the USDOE. [Ref: Mark Hibbs (McGraw Hill-Berlin), Cabinet Aide Says He Favors Including Germany in Gen IV", Nucleonics Week, February 20, 2003, p. 7]

January 31, 2003

1987 Brazil accident study used by USFDA in evaluating Prussian Blue

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration called on manufacturers to start marketing pills containing Prussian blue, the mineral compound ferric hexacyanoferrate (II). The agency says that the drug has been shown to be safe and effective in treating people exposed to radioactive materials such as cesium-137 that might be released by a "dirty bomb". In determining the safety and efficacy of Prussian blue, the FDA evaluated reports of an incident that occurred in Brazil in 1987, when 250 people were contaminated with cesium-137 that had been abandoned after use in a cancer clinic. The reports showed that Prussian blue reduced the residence time of cesium-137 in the body. [Ref: Nuclear News, "FDA calls for manufacture of Prussian blue", April 2003, p. 26]

December 23, 2002

Iran is playing by different rules than Brazil

Iran doesn't have to report a legal facility to IAEA until immediately before it becomes operational. That was the standard rule when Iran became a member in 1974. The 1994-vintage rules for Brazil, however, requires notification at the time the decision is made to construct a controlled facility. The Brazil rules are in the Subsidiary Arrangements under the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting & Control of Nuclear Material (ABACC) framework. [Ref: Mark Hibbs (McGraw Hill-Bonn), "U.S. Briefed Suppliers Group in October on Suspected Iranian Enrichment Plant", Nuclear Fuel, December 23, 2002, p. 1]

Brazil's new enrichment facility

Industrias Nucleares do Brasil opened a new enrichment plant at Resende, a town in the Rio de Janeiro state. Brazil is thus the world's eighth country to announce it possesses enrichment capability. The $140 million plant reportedly will allow Brazil to meet most of its own uranium enrichment requirements (for the Angra-1 and -2 plants) and possibly some for export. Nuclear Engineering International, a trade magazine, quoted a spokesperson from the Brazil Nuclear Institute as saying that "Enrichment used to be done abroad, but with this plant, some 95% of all the process will be domestic from next year." The magazine reported that the plant is expected to save approximately $13-million a year in enrichment costs. [Refs: Nuclear Engineering International, "Enrichment Plant Opened", January 31, 2003, p. 4; Nuclear News, "Fuel Briefs", March 2003, p. 97]

October 18, 2002

Angra-3 construction to resume

Eletronuclear-Eletrobras Termonuclear S.A. will resume construction of Angra-3 (a four-loop, 1229-MWe PWR), which is 30% complete. The project is expected to be finished in 2008 with the additional cost of $1.8 billion. Flavio Decat de Moura, the president of Eletronuclear, told the attendees at Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium in Coral Gables that Angra-2 has provided electricity at lower cost than Brazil's other thermal power plants. 80-90% of Brazil's electricity comes from hydropower, but this source is susceptible to the effects of the dry season, risking energy shortages. Jorge Spitalnik of UPADI said that a drought in 2001 brought Brazilian reservoirs down to 17 percent of capacity, resulting in electricity rationing and increased costs. The relatively lower vulnerability of nuclear power to weather and its price stability are in stark contrast to this aspect of hydropower. Its lack of greenhouse gas emissions helps make nuclear power a strong contender in Brazil, Se–or Spitalnik said. [Ref: James A. Lake (associate director, INEEL), et al., "Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium - 2002", Nuclear News, February 2003, p. 40]

15,000 n-plant-related jobs in Brazil

Including R&D facilities, universities, and other support, about 15,000 people are involved in producing nuclear power in Brazil, according to Claudio U. C. Almeida, of the National Commission for Nuclear Energy. [Ref: James A. Lake (associate director, INEEL), et al., "Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium - 2002", Nuclear News, February 2003, p. 40]

Domestic fuel production in Brazil

Each year, Brazil fabricates 140 tons of uranium dioxide, and licenses 120 tons of pellets, according to Antonio Barroso, of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN). Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) mines 400 tons of uranium per year and provides fuel enrichment and fabrication capability. INB's jet-nozzle based enrichment equipment is being replaced by cascade centrifuge technology this year, according to Ronald Araujo da Silva, of INB. [Ref: James A. Lake (associate director, INEEL), et al., "Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium - 2002", Nuclear News, February 2003, p. 40]

* Brazil 1998

[Source: Nuclear Energy Agency (2000), as presented by THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER: A Study Conducted at The University of Chicago, August 2004, p. 2-5]

Archives

* Brazil's recent n-rumblings - "invocation of the forbidden nuclear fruit"

* Brazil could easily convert nuclear power & missile programs into n-weapons

* Brazil, an NPT success story - odds are, it's not going nuclear anytime soon