Technicians from the National Nuclear Energy Commission (Cnen) and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) carried out a joint inspection last Tuesday (4th) and Wednesday (5th) at the Angra 1 Power Plant. The objective is to continue monitoring the unplanned release of radioactive effluents into the sea, which occurred in September 2022. The inspection was carried out two weeks after Ibama reported the leak in Angra 1.
On March 24th, Ibama informed that Eletronuclear it took four months to admit the disposal of radioactive substances from the Angra 1 nuclear power plant into the sea. The leak occurred in September of last year and, according to the institute, it was only recognized by the state-owned company responsible for the Angra 1 and 2 plants, in January of this year.
In a note, Cnen reported that the inspection in two days this week “was accompanied by a representative of the Attorney General’s Office in Angra dos Reis and included radiometric monitoring and a new collection of samples, which will be duly analyzed by the Institute of Radioprotection and Dosimetry (IRD) from Cnen. Sediment and water samples were selected in potentially affected locations”.
Analyzes already carried out by Cnen previously showed that effluent releases occurred below the established limits. However, as soon as the new IRD analyzes are ready, a new report will be issued.
On behalf of Cnen, employees from the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Board, Reactor Coordination, Radiological Safety Service and Resident Inspection, as well as IRD employees, participated in the survey. Ibama sent officials from the Environmental Licensing Board and the General Coordination of Environmental Emergencies.
Operation
The first Brazilian nuclear power plant went into commercial operation in 1985 and operates with a pressurized water reactor (PWR), the most used in the world. With 640 megawatts of power, Angra 1 generates enough energy to supply a city of 1 million inhabitants, such as Porto Alegre or São Luís.
