Brazil is one of only two countries in South American that has nuclear power generating electricity. The other country is Argentina. During the 1970s and 1980s when they were governed by a military junta, Brazil had a secret nuclear weapons program. The rule of the junta ended in 1985 and in 1990, Brazil officially ended their nuclear weapons program.
The Angra Nuclear Power Plant is the only nuclear power plant in Brazil. It is located in the municipality of Angra dos Reis which is on the coastline of Rio de Janerio State. Two reactors were built there to provide power for Brazil.
The first reactor, called Angra 1, was purchased from Westinghouse. Construction was started in 1976 but there were delays in construction and it was did not connected to the Brazilian grid until 1982. Angra 2 was connected to the grid in 2000. It was constructed with help from West Germany. Construction of a third reactor, Angra 3, was begun in 1984 but halted in 1986. Construction was started again in 2010 and stopped again in 2014. The Brazilian government has decided auctioned off the components of the reactor to private investors who they hope will complete the reactor by 2023. The Eletronuclear company owns and operates the Angra Nuclear Power Station. Currently the two operating reactors provide about three percent of the electricity for Brazil.
Many of the workers in the Angra power plant live in compounds near the plant where security is handled by Eletronuclear. Last December, thieves blew up an ATM at the Mambucaba Condominium which is one of the workers compounds located about nine miles from the plant. Violent crime is increasing in Angra dos Reis and looting ATMs is a common activity for criminal.
Last week, ten armed men took security guards hostage at the Praia Brava Condominum where the plant workers live. They robbed the guests at a private party and fled in a speed boat. The Praia Brava is located less than a mile from the Angra power plant.
I have blogged before about the dangers posed by terrorists and soldiers to nuclear power plants. The taking of hostages and the use of modern weapons less than a mile from a nuclear power plant in Brazil raises the additional concern of threats to nuclear power plants by criminals.
Radioactive materials are worth a lot of money on the black market and thieves might be attempted to steal fuel rods from the nuclear power to sell to terrorists. The terrorists don’t have to have the sophistication to build nuclear bombs, just detonating a conventional explosive with radioactive materials packed around it would cause devastation and havoc in a major city. Another possible criminal move could be to break into a nuclear power plant, take the staff hostage and threaten to cause a meltdown unless a huge ransom is paid.
I have said for a long time that security at most nuclear power plants is not really sufficient to stop a well-armed and highly motivated team.
Angra Nuclear Power Station:
