Greenpeace Protests Brazilian Plans

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Wednesday November 3 11:31 PM ET 

Greenpeace Protests Brazilian Plans  

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Fifteen Greenpeace activists on Wednesday 
chained themselves to the gates of the government's Energy and 
Nuclear Research Institute to protest a shipment of about 1,500 
pounds of spent nuclear fuel back to the United States.  

The nuclear waste contains uranium 235, which can be used to 
manufacture atomic weapons.  

The protest, which lasted six hours, ended when the environmental 
group received documents detailing the safety precautions that will 
be taken when the spent fuel is trucked 48 miles to the port of 
Santos, where it is to be placed on U.S. ships to carry it to South 
Carolina.  

The four-truck convoy that will carry the nuclear waste to the port 
will be protected by the army, navy, air force and federal police 
personnel, the institute's press office said.  

Greenpeace would not comment on the documents it received until they 
are fully analyzed by an independent commission.  

Late last month, Rubens Maiorino, one of the institute's directors, 
said the estimated $2 million operation - part of the Department of 
Energy's Spent Fuel Acceptance Program - would be financed by the 
U.S. government.  

Maiorino said the original nuclear fuel came from the United States 
and was used ``for research purposes and for the production of radio 
pharmaceuticals used to diagnose and treat cancer and other 
diseases.''  

The nuclear fuel currently used by the institute is produced in  
Brazil, he added. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/scperle

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html