Public participation in the environmental licensing process of the Angra II reactor

Newly adopted environmental legislation in Brazil, coupled with the construction delays of the Angra II Nuclear Power Plant, raised questioning among the public on the applicability of fast licensing authorizations. To analyse this issue, a Special Commission was setup of society's representatives and of government agencies involved in the project construction and licensing. The commission took 1/2 years to reach consensus regarding the correctness of the current licensing process. The openness of the discussions, and the opportunity of interaction during such a long time, led the group members to build up unprejudiced understanding, thus achieving mutually acceptable results. (author). 2 refs