HUMSS - Jennifer Eaglin

Reframing Brazilian Nuclear History: Energy and the Environment

Brazil first sought entry into the small club of countries that controlled the technology of their own nuclear plants in the 1950s, but its first commercial nuclear energy plant only came online in 1985 with extensive international assistance despite efforts to obtain nuclear energy autonomy. Most studies of Brazil’s nuclear history focus on the political implications of Brazil’s quest to establish a domestic nuclear energy industry. However, this presentation will introduce Brazilian nuclear energy history from an environmental perspective. I argue that Brazil’s abundant natural resources were critical to legitimizing the controversial establishment of the industry but also undermined the country’s nuclear energy ambitions in the debates about the industry’s place in the country’s energy infrastructure.