As a form of protest, 11 Greenpeace activists sealed the doors today at the headquarters of the Brazilian Nuclear Industry (INB), in Botafogo, in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro.
The group claims that a survey by the Higher Institute of Religious Studies (Iser) shows that 82.3% of the Brazilian population opposes the construction of nuclear plants in the country.
The activists were arrested and taken to the Botafogo police station.
A Greenpeace activist interrupted the Secretary of Energy, Shipbuilding, and Petroleum of Rio de Janeiro, Wagner Victer, who was speaking at the opening of the X Brazilian Energy Conference, in the Gloria Hotel.
The activist, Marcelo Furtado, protested the construction of nuclear plants in Brazil and distributed copies of a letter calling for an end to the Brazilian nuclear program.
The environmentalist organization representative also handed copies of the letter to the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Maurício Tomasquin.
The Secretary of Informatics Policy and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Francelino Grando, after receiving his own his copy of the letter told that “the government has a commitment to society to discuss amply the need to build other nuclear plants before making any decision.”
During a television program last week, the Minister of Science and Technology, Eduardo Campos affirmed that the government is studying the possibility of building four more nuclear reactors in the country.
Agência Brasil
Translator: David Silberstein