Safety Fears Cloud Future of Mexico’s First Nuclear Plant

The big, bright, red cube that houses the atomic reactor at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant clashes almost gaily with the blue sea and green hillsides along the Gulf of Mexico near here.

But local residents of a land rich in cattle, sugar and corn are less than gay about the prospects of sharing their coastline with Mexico’s first atomic energy plant.

Awakened from apathy by last year’s nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union, rural and urban residents alike are trying to block the impending inauguration of Laguna Verde. They see the plant as a threat to their livelihoods, at least, if not to their lives.

Concern With Conscience

“We may not be able to stop it, but at least we won’t have it on our conscience,” said Antonio Breton, a cattle rancher who lives near Palma Sola, just five miles from the nuclear plant.

While the explosion and fire at Chernobyl last April formed the catalyst for increasing opposition to Laguna Verde, a general lack of trust in the words and actions of the Mexican government has compounded criticism. And the bumpy trajectory of the Laguna Verde project--16 years of cost overruns, frequent personnel changes and reports of shoddy workmanship--has left little room for confidence.

Its opponents contend that Laguna Verde is an accident waiting to happen.

“If such accidents can happen in the Soviet Union, or even the United States,” declared rancher Breton, referring to the accidents at both Chernobyl and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, “what will happen in our Mexico?”

National Vote Urged

Breton and other opponents of the plant want a national referendum to decide whether Laguna Verde should open. As an alternative, they ask that the plant be converted to use natural gas as fuel. An under-used gas pipeline--a government project gone bust--runs only 30 yards from Laguna Verde’s main gate.

Whether the government will gamble on a vote or a sudden change in fuel is another matter. About $3 billion has been invested in the plant’s construction. Prestige may be another factor: Laguna Verde was long seen as a symbol of Mexico’s march into modern times.

The nuclear plant is now undergoing final tests and is scheduled to start producing electricity sometime this summer.

“The opposition is using false arguments to try to stop this project,” said Juan Eibenshutz, a senior pro-nuclear official in Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission. “This can be the start of a nuclear industry in Mexico.”

Still, increasing protests have forced the government to take note of the opposition.

Last September, during his state of the nation speech, President Miguel de la Madrid said Laguna Verde would “go into commercial operation” in 1987. But he added, “We know there are social groups who have expressed concern over this project. We understand their apprehension; we will not spare any efforts or investments in security measures.”

Recently, his government gave in to demands that the safety of the plant be discussed at an open forum in Mexico’s National Congress. The hearings began Monday amid controversy; several opponents of the Laguna Verde project complained that they were not being permitted to speak. A march on Laguna Verde is planned for Jan. 24, which would be the third such demonstration there in six months.

Picturesque Beach

Laguna Verde sits on a picturesque beach 50 miles to the north of Veracruz, Mexico’s main gulf port.

At the least, local ranchers say, they fear that the release of slight amounts of radiation will mean an end to their cattle sales. “Even the whisper that radiation levels have increased could shut down our markets,” veterinarian Maria Eugenia Lopez said.

At the worst, local residents say, they fear for their safety. Evacuation in the event of a serious accident would be a nightmare, they contend. Many nearby villages lack paved roads; poorer farmers often travel by horseback and mule.

“They tell us we will have to stay inside in case of an accident,” rancher Breton said. “How long? And should our cattle come inside with us?”

The government is studying evacuation plans but has yet to publicize any details.

Even in Veracruz, a city openly proud of its devil-may-care ways, the impending start-up of Laguna Verde has raised safety fears, sometimes in emotional terms.

‘Asking for a Pardon’

“We are asking for a pardon from a death sentence,” declared Jose Carrasco, a key maker and environmental activist.

In faraway Mexico City, the tone is perhaps the most apocalyptic.

“The risk is too big. It is more dangerous than Chernobyl,” said physicist Marco Antonio Negrete.

Begun in 1970, construction at Laguna Verde was supposed to be completed by mid-decade. Instead, it has dragged on through 16 years of delays and cost overruns. Laguna Verde’s initial construction budget was $450 million.

In all, seven different directors have been in charge of the project, and each change has brought new subordinates into the operation. The frequent changes have raised concern that the oversight of construction quality is second-rate.

“Certainly, there were too many changes made for political reasons,” said Jacinto Viqueira, a former planner for the Federal Electricity Commission. “At the least, so much time has passed that one can say the plant is already obsolete.”

Shoddy Workmanship Alleged

Reports of shoddy workmanship have been numerous: a dented reactor vessel, faulty welds in tubing, substandard concrete. However, no whistle-blower has come forward with hard facts.

Questions have also been raised about whether the shells designed to contain steam leaks in case of an accident at the plant are large enough or sturdy enough to keep radiation from escaping into the environment.

Opposition to Laguna Verde has intensified against a backdrop of declining government credibility, brought on by official mishandling of industrial and natural disasters affecting state-built facilities.

In 1984, gas storage tanks belonging to the state-owned Pemex oil company exploded in a Mexico City neighborhood and killed hundreds of residents. The government tried to play down the tragedy by stopping casualty counts. It also announced an investigation that was never completed.

The 1985 earthquakes in Mexico City were followed by government promises to investigate construction flaws and maintenance problems in government-built housing and hospitals that collapsed. Nothing further has been heard from any investigation, although many of the flaws had been publicized before the quake.

Fires at Pemex oil wells have become almost endemic. Last November and December, a fire at an offshore well in the Gulf of Mexico burned out of control for three weeks. Also in December, an explosion at an oil refinery in the state of Guanajuato killed four workers. In all, according to a memo ascribed to Pemex and published in Proceso Magazine, industrial accidents at the oil giant have taken the lives of 172 workers in four years.

“Mexico is the world champion of accidents,” said Carrasco, the Veracruz environmental activist.

Backers of the Laguna Verde project say they resent suggestions of guilt by association.

“This is pure demagoguery,” said Eibenshutz of the Federal Electricity Commission.

Meets Safety Standards

Eibenshutz said Laguna Verde meets up-to-date standards of plant safety despite the age of the reactor design.

He pointed to the safety record of similar plants in the United States as well as the lack of injuries after the Three Mile Island accident as proof of the plant design’s basic safety.

“The basic concept of nuclear energy is fine,” he said. “The opponents’ arguments comes down to one thing: If it’s nuclear, it’s sinful.”

Political Overtones

Because Mexico is entering the season in which a new president is being chosen, the controversy over Laguna Verde is taking on more political overtones than it might have done previously.

The sensitivities have brought suggestions that Laguna Verde’s inauguration might be postponed for another two years until the successor to President De la Madrid is in office.