Para uma história do VIH/Sida em Portugal e dos 30 anos da epidemia (1983-2013)

Imaginaries of nuclear energy in the Portuguese parliament: Between promise, risk, and democracy

“…Since 1907 Portugal was aware of significant radium–uranium reserves in its territory and had consistently established mining activities, initially under the operation of a British company and later with a partial and total nationalization of the mining enterprise. By the end of World War II, Portugal was the third largest producer of uranium concentrates in the West (Oliveira, 2002). However, these uranium oxides were not used for local research activities, being instead sold to the United Kingdom and the United States (Oliveira, 2002).…”

“…By the end of World War II, Portugal was the third largest producer of uranium concentrates in the West (Oliveira, 2002). However, these uranium oxides were not used for local research activities, being instead sold to the United Kingdom and the United States (Oliveira, 2002). Following the Atoms for peace incentives of the early 1950s (Eisenhower, 1953), the dictatorial government commissioned a Nuclear Energy Board to form and gather the elite of national scientific expertise in order to develop the country’s capacity to use its own uranium reserves in the near future.…”

“…The first revolutionary governments, urging to implement the so-called three D’s revolutionary slogan—Democratization, Decolonization, and Development—recognized the nuclear program as a step to accomplish the third demand. In 1975, and disregarding potential public reactions, the Minister of Energy and Industry announced some preliminary construction work to facilitate the building of Ferrel’s nuclear power plant (Oliveira, 2002). Apparently, there had been a continuation of the dictatorial orientation toward the use of nuclear energy, conceiving the national uranium reserves as the justification for such an endeavor.…”

“…In 1984, a reviewed version of the PEN was elaborated, this time with a less ambitious program of nuclear development, but still considering it as an option for future energy development. In that same year, the national energy company, EDP, identified two potential locations for the construction of two power plants, and the commission in charge of the renewed PEN reviewed the work according to a set of recommendations of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts (Oliveira, 2002). However, the Parliament was never informed about the results of the study, including potential locations for the construction of the plant.…”

“…In 1986, after the overwhelming impacts of Chernobyl, nuclear energy was deliberately excluded—the emphasis was now on the use of natural gas and coal and on the diversification and rational use of energy resources. In that same year, the Secretary of State for the Environment publicly declared that Portugal had abandoned the nuclear option, a decision that would later be ratified by the Prime Minister in 1987 (Oliveira, 2002). If nuclear energy was already too expensive for Portugal and too difficult to support due to popular opposition, the implications of Chernobyl decisively undermined the Portuguese nuclear project.…”