MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Nuclear plant inspectors in Brazil.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are expected this Tuesday in Brazil to view part of its uranium enrichment equipment according to Veja, the country's leading weekly magazine which quotes unnamed government sources.

The announcement of the visit comes after Brazil tentatively agreed to the IAEA inspection after months of squabbling over technology that could be stolen if experts from other countries have access to the Resende centrifuges, close to Rio do Janeiro.

Earlier in the year Science and Technology minister Eduardo Campos said that Brazil had spent over a billion US dollars and years of research in developing uranium enrichment technology.

"Brazilian centrifuges are 30% more efficient because of an electromagnetic device designed by our engineers and we have to protect this technology", insisted Mr. Campos.

The deal reached with IAEA will allow inspectors to verify that the uranium is neither being enriched to weapons grade level or diverted to other sites.

Diplomats have said the IAEA is not much concerned about Brazil trying to make nuclear weapons but is interested in knowing how the country which ran a secret nuclear military program before ending it in the eighties actually acquired the technology.

Press reports also claim that Brazil's reluctance to give IAEA inspectors full access is more linked to covering up illicit purchases than showing the centrifuges.

Brazil is determined to have enriched uranium to fuel its two nuclear power plants, Angra I and II which generate 5% of the country's electricity. Besides Brazil has the sixth largest uranium reserves and currently must ship the ore out of the country to be processed into fuel. Brazil also strongly rejects any intent of building nuclear weapons.