Brazilian nuclear power company hid radioactive leak

A federal court ruled Wednesday that the state-controlled energy company Eletronuclear has 30 days to assess the damage caused by a small leak of water contaminated with radioactive material in Itaorna Bay, in Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The leak occurred on September 16, 2022, but the company took several months to notify regulators. Last month, Brazil’s environmental protection agency Ibama fined Eletronuclear approximately BRL 2 million (USD 381,000) for the illegal disposal of radioactive materials. 

According to Ibama’s press office, the agency received a complaint on September 29 about a leak of water contaminated with radioisotopes at the Angra I nuclear power plant. The next day, a team of Ibama employees visited the plant, where they met with resident inspectors from Brazil’s National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). 

“At that time,” Ibama said, “the plant’s representative argued that the complaint was unfounded and that the leak, if it existed, should have been reported to the CNEN within four hours.” Moreover, according to Ibama, the resident inspectors present at the meeting reported that they were unaware of the leak and that “until that moment there was...