THE 4th. INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INNOVATIVE
NUCLEAR ENERGY SYSTEMS - INES-4
INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POST
FUKUSHIMA
6th. - 8th. November, 2013.
EUROPEAN LAW INSTITUTE – SOFIA, BULGARIA
"THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS STOPPAGE AROUND THE WORLD: THE DIFFERENCES AMONG BRAZIL AND FUKUSHIMA POWER PLANTS, IN JAPAN”
Profa. Guilhermina Coimbra.*
ABSTRACT: The Author relates the difference between Japan and Brazil nuclear power plants and the advertising drive against the nuclear power plants in Brazil, also in others countries and prejudicing the nuclear industries and in general the industries.
*Curriculum Lattes; University Federal Rio de Janeiro Rural Adjunct Professor Constitutional Law, State General Theory, Public and Private International Law, Public and Private Law Institutions, ; www.ufrrj.gov.br ; Brazilian Nations Integration Institute-IBIN President, Lawyer, Office: Rua Debret, n. 23 – Gr. 801-802, Castelo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - CEP 20030-080 - /RJ, Brazil; Master Course in Law and Development/Catholic Pontific University Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/1984; Doctorate in Law and Economics/UGFº/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/1997; Brazilian Lawyers Institute/IAB, Web site: ; E. mail: International Law Committee, Member-Coordinator/CPDI/IAB, RJ, Brazil ; IAB/Constitutional Law Committee Member, E. mail: ;International Nuclear Law Association/INLA Member/Brussels, Belgium, since 1979; E-mail: ;Web site: ; Inter-American Bar Association Bar Board Member since 1997, Washington, D.C., E-mail: ; Web site: ; International Journal of Nuclear Law Editorial Board Member, Web Site: ; E-mail: ; E-mail: Home page:
INTRODUCTION
“The irrational respect to authority is the greatest enemy of truth “. Albert Einstein.
It’s really an honor and a pleasure for me to participate of this so auspicious event, invited by Doctor Atanas SEMOV, Dr. Tetsuo Sawada – the Chairman of this Symposium - and Professor Jean Monnet.
I’m truly thankful to them and I’m thankful also to Professor André Maisseu, who introduced me the World Council of Nuclear Workers and Experts (WONUC) and on all the Organization’s job in the nuclear energy field, developing constantly events on nuclear energy themes. Thanks to all of them.
Thanks also to the organizers by the opportunity coming back to Japan.
I have been in Tokyo, in 1989, to participate of the Nuclear Inter Jura, promoted by the International Nuclear Law Association/INLA held in Kindaren. .
In our paper, I intend to talk a little about South America, Brazil in general and, specially, about Brazil nuclear energy story showing for all of you, the differences among Fukushima nuclear power plants and Brazilian nuclear power plants.
I – A LITTLE ABOUT SOUTH AMERICA AND BRAZIL COMMERCIAL INTERCHANGE
It is important for us to begin saying with a few words about special South American States and Brazil history, and their commercial relationships around the world.
For a better comprehension, it is necessary to understand that all the South America countries have a good commercial interchange historic with all the Continents: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The South America States have mainly a good commercial and affective interchange historic with all their ex-Metropolis.
The South American that speaks Spanish maintain a strong commercial link with Spain. And Brazil goes further more, with Portugal’s friendship, its ex-Metropolis - and Italy.
Related to Brazil, we can say that Brazil has become itself a very complex society and it is important to transcribe the following:
...”with the major Italian population out from Italy estimated in thirteen seven million of Italians (only São Paulo has more Italians than Roma and Milan together) just like , the major African population out from Asia”. (in Noronha Goyos, Tratado de Defesa Comercial, Observador Legal, São Paulo, S.P., Brasil).
In addition too, millions of other nationalities, just like Japanese, Germans, Arabian, Jewish, Polonaise, Korean, Chinese and others - with diversified native ethnics, are completely integrated to the country, living in Brazil’s Central and North Region.
An impressive thing and a Brazil most important characteristic, nevertheless, is that in spite of several and diversified culture, Brazil has a national identity.
In spite of several economy internationalizations, face to the attempt of globalization, we can affirm that Brazilian people is so nationalist as the North American, the European or others South American and it may be said that, in spite of the many political, economic and financial divergences normally found in a Federal State like Brazil – whenever a national question poses itself, there is general agreement.
In terms of international commercial relations the Brazilian position is clear. There is a consensus that the multilateral relations are the best. Brazil has condemned unilateral attitudes in several countries.
The merit is thanks to the Brazilian diplomacy. But in the international relationships everything is difficult and important discordances will always exist.
For examples: when Brazil has refused to approval Libya intervention; when Brazil has asked for stop the fire in Africa and so on.
Mutatis mutandis, the same we can say about South American countries.
II – A LITTLE ABOUT BRAZIL NUCLEAR ENERGY STORY
We can say that since 1930 more or less, Brazilian technicians has researched the nuclear energy peaceful uses (Admiral Alvaro Alberto, Brazil Navy, the pioneer, colleague and correspondent of Einstein, Couple Curie, Enrico Fermi, and others scientists of the same worth).
Brazil has a beautiful nuclear energy history that is not yet finished.
Brazil has worked hard, for more than eighteen years, to improve a nuclear energy program, which could give to the Brazilian population optimal energy capacity regardless of natural phenomena.
Since then, it is unanimity among the Brazilian technicians, that there is no reason to delay the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in Brazil.
So, despite Brazil’s hydroelectric potential, Brazilian technicians have always known about the country’s needs, concerning to the nuclear energy and its use for peaceful purposes (electricity generation, civil and military engineering, medicine, agriculture and a lot of good things.).
First, because hydropower sources doesn’t distribute itself harmoniously, throughout the consumer centers, in Brazil.
There, more than 50% of the water power resources are located in the Amazon region, a demographic desert. From there, very little can be transferred to meet the demands of other regions.
This is due, not only to the impossibility to overcome natural obstacles (the width of the Amazon River at several points, for example) but, mainly, to the enormous waste, in the form of heat, emitted during energy circulation, from almost all transmission lines.
Excellent use would demand, at least, a new industrial zone (Brazilian main industrial zones are located in the southeast and southern regions, and the Amazon river region lies in the North of Brazil).
Second, because all vital systems to the normal functioning of communities, need alternatives, especially those that depend upon natural phenomena.
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Regions of Brazil, must necessarily and obligatorily count on several alternatives to provide for supply, through inter-connections with other neighbors’ systems.
But, still this is not sufficient. There must be other options based on different energy sources. If such options are not available, a prolonged dry season will promote a generalized total collapse in the system.
As all of us know, the conventional alternatives would be:
- Thermal plants, to be set in motion by means of hydrocarbons, coal, charcoal and, even, firewood;
- hydrocarbons (petroleum, gas) are scarce in the whole world and if the current levels are maintained, they will only last forty years, no longer than that;
- coal is scarce and concentrated in the southern part of Brazil, and for this reason, is used to produce energy in that part of the country; - biomass which Brazil is full of, mainly in the Amazon Region, but, there are more profitable uses for that, for example, production of wood.
It is important to note, in terms of energy alternative sources, that if these kinds of energies are less polemics and it does not find so much opposition it is because they have expensive technologies and so, they pay more to its lobbyists.
But, more important is not to forget that all the energy alternatives sources are dependent on the bad weather (sun, wind) and that the installed industries in Brazil cannot depend upon bad weather.
So, it’s right at this point that the nuclear option arises in Brazil, as an electrical energy generation source, according to energy experts.
In addition to, most recognized strategic and internationally certified sectors, in Brazil, is the nuclear sector. Brazilian power plants operate with technical standards of internal excellence. The nuclear most known institutions about nuclear energy are: AMAZUL the nuclear sector of Naval Propulsion Engineering; CETEX, the Brazilian Arm Technologic Centre; CNEN, the National Nuclear Energy Commission; IPEN, the Nuclear Energy Researches Institute; NUCLEP, the Nuclear Engineering and Researches; IRD, the Dosimeter Institute; CNPq, the National Board Researches; IME, the Military Institute of Engineering.
Besides, Brazil has a vast potential of uranium, and the reserves of uranium in kilocalories are seventy times superior to the total of coal, oil and natural gas reserves in Brazil.
III – THE NEWEST STRATEGIES TO PARALYZE THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN BRAZIL
As a professor, it is part of my job being an opinion maker. So, I have done my best, refusing all the false arguments which, tendentiously and perseveringly, try to stop the Brazil development, preventing Brazil to give a useful destination to those energetic nuclear minerals that are in the Brazilian subsoil.
In the developed world, needy of nuclear raw material, there was a progressive amount of new reactors projects.
In accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency/IAEA there are more than 350 nuclear power plants in construction in the whole world and more than the double of them, generating clean and economical energy operating with the biggest security, in all the developed countries: France, for example, is the country that has more nuclear power plants by km².
The International Atomic Energy Agency statistics published in its internet site, 145 nuclear reactors were turned off permanently around the world until 2013 June. This number has a certain expression if you compare it with three actors total operating in the world at the same time, 437, representing about 25% of the totality of reactors constructed around the world.
An expert in nuclear energy and reactors in Brazil has done a research about the theme and he concludes that without a more criterions judgment, the Agency numbers could be understood as a negative indicator to the nuclear industry.
The done analyze for the 145 turned off reactors permanently until 2013, June has shown:
- 66 reactors utilize abandoned technologies or unexpressive ones, in the actual and future market. So, analyzing their operational historic is not relevant related to reactors performance in operation and in construction;
- 34 reactors –PWR, PHWRs and BWR, trainee - that were turned off - were operating before 1970, June, and, in majority were experimental reactors, to trainee experiments or to demonstration. All of them had low potential, including some first constructed reactors as models to generate in a higher potential;
-11 reactors were turned off by political decision in reducing the nuclear energy in their countries;
-12 turned off reactors permanently until June 2013 were in the European East countries, all them have PWR technologies and were turned off by Govern voluntary decision and not compulsorily, there was not one of them were turned off because the bad reactor performance;
So, it is to be concluded that in this 21 reactors universe, 10 have operated for more than 30 years, and 16 for more than 20 years all them had their useful life completed, or at least 50% of their projected life.
So the conclusion is: the fact that in potent 582 nuclear reactors put in operation around the world, only 145 nuclear reactors were turned off; so, it does not constitute any indicator of suspicion about nuclear industry expectative in operating all the reactors nuclear today in functioning and in construction by all their licensed useful life.
Nowadays it’s observed and hoped a new strong terrorist deceptive advertisement against the nuclear energy power plants. Environmentalist groups in USA, European Union and their commercial partners, as India, China, Turkey, Indonesia and others, all them are united in the common objective: to ask for the “nuclear energy new projects suspension” and claiming by “creation of more severe security patterns”. Besides everybody knows the nuclear and Aerospatiale industries have a 10 security coefficient.
The earthquake followed by a tsunami - in Fukushima, Japan - provoking the radioactive material leakage, from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is being considered as God-given by those who want to force the Brazilian Government to give up his nuclear program and thus to deliver forever to the international nuclear energy market the nuclear raw material potential that is on Brazil subsoil.
The deceive propaganda as ...”Fukushima accident causes a dead per day , said Japanese researcher…”..In reason of the March, 2011 Fukushima accident 180 persons has dead in the last six months…”said Yotaro Hatamura, the ex-President of the Nuclear Power Plant Investigation Commission.
But, everybody perceives that this is not true, this is prejudicing the nuclear industries around the world and trying to prejudicing, mainly, Brazil and others countries that wish to develop nuclear energy programs through the exercise of their autonomy power - guaranteed by United Nations Organization Letter.
As in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency data, actually 20% of four hundred and forty two nuclear power plants in functioning are in areas with significant seismic activities and that nuclear power plants are constructed to support earthquakes with magnitude 8,5, but not to support tsunamis.
Knowing those facts we can only conclude that:
- or the Agency is divulgating false information;
- or the Agency has failed in accomplishing with her obligation in supervising and not allow that nuclear power plants were constructed in areas subjected to tide wave - even knowing that nuclear power plants cannot be constructed to the edge of the sea, because this kind of power plants are not foreseen to support tsunamis.
-or this information, maliciously, objectives only to paralyze nuclear programs and commercial competitive nuclear power plants constructed in these areas through a terrorist deceive propaganda - based on the risk pretext.
Although, remembering the strong pressure done by the Agency against the Brazilian Government, trying to obligate him to show to the Agency ‘s supervisors all the Brazilian nuclear power plants, we cannot believe in any of these conclusions.
I cannot believe that the real interest of the Agency’s supervisors in Brazil was spying Brazil’s nuclear industry with the pretext of supervising the nuclear power plants.
But we must believe that what is happening is a brutal misleading propaganda with the goal to paralyze potential competitors around the world – Brazil among them.
3.1 – The Brazilian Law and the International Law about Misleading Propaganda.
In Brazil the Consumer Law N. 8078/90, in its articles 36 and 37 foresees this kind of deceive propaganda punishing it.
The International trade law, in the World Trade Organization Rules/WTO, is the same.
So we know that the publicity must be divulgated in the mood that the consumer easy and immediately gets it just like the propaganda said.
It is forbidden all the deceive or abusive propaganda. It is misleading any kind of propaganda entire or partially false, that by action or omission is capable to induce in error the consumer, about the nature ,characteristics, properties quality and quantity, sources, price and other data about services and products.
It is abusive the discriminatory publicity of any nature, that promotes the violence, explore the scarce or the superstition, take profit of the people deficiency (ignorance) to do a criterions judgment, or be capable to induce themselves in a prejudicial or dangerous form to their healthful or security.
It is misleading the propaganda by omission when it does not inform about essential data about products and services.
All of us can prove this position against the arguments which intend to spread the nuclear terror, the radioactivity’s threaten from the nuclear power plants.
If any doubt persists, the best thing that I can suggest you is to remember the following facts: Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destructed by nuclear bombs, immediately were reconstructed at the same place and the residents immediately returned to their cities.
As a way to prove the security of the nuclear power plants scientifically, I recommend you a paper written by a Brazilian nuclear expert about the nuclear power plants security, with several photos. The website is