Perspectives on Social Communication in the Brazilian Nuclear Licensing Process and Challenges on Stakeholder Engagement: Caetité Uranium Mining Case

According to the Brazilian system of laws and regulations, uranium and thorium mining and milling facilities are considered as nuclear installations, being subject to both licensing processes: (i) a nuclear licensing process performed by the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) and (ii) an environmental licensing process performed by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), with the participation of State and local environmental agencies. The nuclear licensing process is performed in steps (starting with setting up the decommissioning phase), which encompasses the submission of reports/documents and, in the case of subsequent approval, the granting of specific authorizations for each step. Proactive stakeholder engagement activities are taken into account, such as the holding of public hearings, which are considered an aspect of environmental licensing. In the nuclear licensing process, the main activities of the regulatory body are the safety assessment of the applicant's documentation and the conduct of regulatory inspections. It is worth mentioning that nuclear regulation establishes that no nuclear installation can operate without a licence, as well the necessary review and assessment process, including the specification of the documentation to be submitted to the nuclear regulatory body at each phase of licensing. Additionally, there is a system of regulatory inspections and the corresponding enforcement mechanisms that include the authority to modify, suspend or revoke the licence. Nuclear installations will also have an authorized radiation protection supervisor certified by the nuclear regulatory body. In the town of Caetité (State of Bahia) is located the only uranium mine in operation in Brazil and named the Uranium Concentrate Unit, the activities of which are developed by the Brazilian State-owned company, Brazilian Nuclear Industries (INB), including the development of environmental and radiological protection monitoring programmes. During the uranium mining and milling operations, some events had occurred and their impacts on social media reflect the concerns, demands and challenges with respect to perspectives on social communication and accountability. Also, in the event presented in this paper, it is possible to perceive that despite the environmental monitoring programme conducted by the operator demonstrating a lack of contamination, the local community nonetheless did not feel confident about the operation of the uranium mining facility.