Timebombs In Paradise
There's no doubt that the Costa Verde is one of Brazil's most beautiful stretches of coast, so it's not surprising that so many hotel and holiday home complexes are appearing on the hillsides and in the picturesque coves. What is incredible, however, is that the coast was chosen as the location of two of the potentially most environmentally destructive complexes - an oil terminal and a nuclear power plant. The Petrobras oil terminal is, at least, out of sight, located 25km east of Angra, so you only need contemplate the damage that an oil spill could wreak on this ecologically fragile stretch of coast when you pass the barrack-like housing complexes for the Petrobras workers on the BR-101, the main coastal road towards Angra. Perhaps more worrying are the nuclear power plants , Angra-1 and Angra-2, some 40km west of Angra. The project was directly managed by the Brazilian military and it's difficult to imagine a more insane place to put a nuclear reactor. Not only would there be enormous difficulties should an emergency evacuation be necessary, as the mountains here plunge directly into the sea, but in addition the plant is in an earthquake fault zone, in a cove that local Indians call Itaorna, the moving rock. The plant's safety record is already in doubt, and since 1985 Angra-1 has been shut down for unspecified repairs over twenty times. Officials insist that there has been no leak of radiation beyond the plant, but environmentalists say there may be cracks in the reactor's primary container system and want the plant shut down for good. Its future, however, looks secure: it would be humiliating for the military to abandon the project - it's claimed Angra-1 can supply twenty percent of Brazil's electricity needs while Angra-2, in operation since 1999, has similar potential - and there would be huge problems in decommissioning the plant. If you want to visit the plant, the Visitors' Centre offers a predictably professional public relations show (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am-3pm).
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