INB Caldas 

The exploration of uranium in Brazil began in 1982 in the district of Caldas (state of Minas Gerais); in 1995 INB found that it was not economically feasible to operate the unit and therefore decided to shut down its activities. Ten years later, the decontamination of its facilities and land began.

The Environmental Chemical and Radiological Analysis Laboratory is installed at INB Caldas, its mission being to carry out all analyses required to monitor the environment in areas of the states of Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais and São Paulo where INB’s units are in operation.

The facilities, the soil, the water and the old mining equipment, as well as all radioactive materials stored there are permanently monitored in order to protect the environment and ensure the health conditions of unit workers and local residents.

In 2012, the IBAMA approved the Plan for Reclamation of Degraded Areas (PRAD), which is currently under review at the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission. This Plan is the result of studies conducted in such areas as hydrology, geochemistry, hydrochemistry, and radioprotection, to indicate the works to be undertaken and the environmental recovery actions to be developed in the unit.