Event highlights importance of nuclear safety culture in Brazilian waters
By First Lieutenant (T) Klojda
On Monday (23), the Brazilian Navy (MB) held the first edition of the workshop “Visit of naval assets with an onboard nuclear plant in Brazilian waters” in Rio de Janeiro. The event took place in the auditorium of the Naval Secretariat for Nuclear Safety and Quality (SecNSNQ), which was responsible for organizing it.
The workshop aimed to assist in building a culture of naval nuclear safety, as well as serving as an opportunity to clarify doubts about the concepts, requirements and procedures presented in Standard SecNSNQ-114, published on July 1. The Standard contributes to the adoption of the most correct safety procedures before, during and after naval vessels, military or civilian, equipped with nuclear reactors enter Brazilian waters. A recent example of such a visit was the participation of the aircraft carrier USS “George Washington” in Operation “Southern Seas – 2024”
At the opening, the Naval Secretary for Nuclear Safety and Quality, Fleet Admiral Petronio Augusto Siqueira de Aguiar, emphasized the legal evolution that the country is going through in relation to nuclear energy. “Today, we are certain that we are, in fact and in law, a regulatory, licensing and controlling body for any vessel that is operating in our waters with an onboard nuclear reactor that serves as an energy source,” he said, referring to the work of SecNSNQ.
The event was attended by military personnel from Navy organizations directly or indirectly involved in visiting naval assets with onboard nuclear plants, as well as professionals from other entities. Among the latter were representatives of the Brazilian Nuclear Program Protection System of the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic (SIPRON/GSI-PR), the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) and the Radioprotection and Dosimetry Institute (IRD).
The event was attended by military personnel from Navy organizations directly or indirectly involved in visits to naval assets with nuclear plants on board, as well as professionals from other entities. Among the latter were representatives of the Brazilian Nuclear Program Protection System of the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic (SIPRON/GSI-PR), the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) and the Radioprotection and Dosimetry Institute (IRD).
About the Secretariat
Following the creation of the National Nuclear Safety Authority (ANSN), with the approval of Law No. 14.222/2021, it was established that it is the Navy Command’s exclusive responsibility to regulate, license, inspect and control naval assets with onboard nuclear plants.
In order to fulfill the MB’s duties in this context, the Naval Secretariat for Nuclear Safety and Quality was created, a body that directly assists the Commander of the Navy. The main tasks of the SecNSNQ are precisely to regulate, license, inspect and control submarines, surface ships, platforms or vessels that use nuclear reactors as their own energy sources or for third parties, in Brazilian jurisdictional waters.
The purpose of this action is to protect crews, the population, property and the environment from the undesirable effects of ionizing radiation.