Nuclear Dilemma

Antonio Palocci, Brazil’s Finance Minister, denied claims given by his Science and Technology peer, Sergio Rezende, announcing a plan for the construction of up to seven nuclear power plants. But Palocci’s denial was not exactly definite. “There is absolutely no completed plan on this,” he said, adding that hydroelectric plants are cheaper and safer than nuclear reactors.

The scale of the project as announced by Rezende is unrealistic. Brazil has two active nuclear plants. A third one has been under construction for two decades. At that rhythm it would take the country about a century to hit Rezende’s number.