#1 Greenpeace tries to block Brazil nuclear plant
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 2:18 pm
CNN
Is there anyone who actually reads their Constitution?RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Greenpeace announced Tuesday it is seeking a court injunction to block the construction of a third nuclear power plant in Brazil, which is searching for ways to produce more energy for Latin America's largest nation.
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Greenpeace activists protest against the use of nuclear energy in September in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The environmental group said it is filing a suit and seeking a restraining order in federal court in Angra dos Reis, a coastal resort south of Rio de Janeiro.
It's the site of Brazil's two other nuclear power plants.
Nuclear plants Angra 1 and Angra 2 have an installed capacity of about 2,000 megawatts. Angra 3 would raise capacity to 3,300 megawatts at a cost of about $3.6 billion, according to the Mines and Energy Ministry.
In August, the government moved to restart work on Angra 3, which has been stalled since the 1980s by lack of funds.
Greenpeace said in a statement that it will cite the federal government, the Eletronuclear power company, the Ibama environmental protection agency and the Rio de Janeiro State Environmental Engineering Federation, or Feema, claiming that the construction of Angra 3 is "illegal and unconstitutional.