MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Enriched uranium controversy in Brazil.

Since Brazil recently announced it had developed its own technology to enrich uranium the United Nations Atomic Energy International Agency, AEIA, has been pushing for site inspections, apparently so far to no avail.

Brazil which is the country with the world's largest known uranium reserves would normally have the enriching process done in Canada.

"Instead of enriching in Canada, we've began doing it here. If the country is responsible or if the material is going to end in hands of terrorists are questions that are not asked to Canada. Why do they ask them to South Americans?" Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Roberto Amaral is quoted in the Brazilian press.

The exclusive club of countries dominating the technology to enrich uranium includes United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, China, Holland, Japan, Canada and now Brazil.

Brazilian press reports indicate that behind the resistance to AEIA inspections is the "Brazilian Navy that secretly developed an enriching technology and has plans to build a nuclear powered submarine sometime in the next seven to fifteen years".

However, officially Brazil has targeted an initial production of 120 tons to supply with enriched uranium its two nuclear electricity generating plants, Angra I and Angra II.

Brazil's aspirations to dominate nuclear technology date back to the seventies when the country was under military rule. The return to democracy and successive financial crisis apparently had shelved the project until the arrival of the Lula da Silva administration who named nationalist Mr. Amaral as head of the Science and Technology Ministry.

So far Brazil has not allowed AEIA inspectors into the country and the Brazilian line is that "we do not comment this issue".