The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors agreed to Brazil's restrictions and arrived at the Resende plant, located in southeast Brazil, at 1400 GMT Tuesday.

Brazil has signed and ratified the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and cannot operate the plant until it gets a green light from the IAEA, the UN body that monitors treaty compliance.

Brazil has the one of the world's largest uranium reserves. It has denied IAEA inspectors access to the facility in February and March. Brazilian officials say they want to protect trade secrets to an efficient uranium extraction process.

The uranium enrichment process produces fuel for civilian reactors, but also the explosive core of atomic bombs.

The US government has said that it was confident Brazil was not developing nuclear weapons.

During their visit, the inspectors, from the United States, France and South Africa, will determine whether the agreed-upon restrictions will impede their work.

"We agreed on the details of the visit, which will allow them to say whether our plant conforms with the blueprints and design information that we sent IAEA before construction," Odair Dias Goncalves, the president of Brazil's National Nuclear Energy Commission, said Monday.

On Tuesday, reporters were kept away from the power plant, which is some 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Rio de Janeiro.

The inspectors will not be allowed to see the centrifuges' frame, but they will have access to the tubes, valves and connections.

But both sides changed stances on Monday, Goncalves said.

"Before, IAEA access to nuclear plants had to be complete," he said. "Today, the IAEA accepts the fact that it is not necessary to have unlimited access to facilities to obtain viable guarantees."

IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei has said Brazil should not be an exception to the organization's norms.

The Brazilian financial daily Valor reported Tuesday that there were nearly 400 centrifuges in Resende, but the government wants to keep that information confidential.

The inspectors will announce Wednesday if the "limited" visit is adequate. They will then return to the IAEA's headquarters in Vienna, where they will issue their official statement.

If the inspectors rule in favor of Brazil, another team of inspectors will arrive with poorly enriched uranium to test for leaks. Then in about six months Resende could enter operations and inspectors would return for routine safety visits.

Up to now no nuclear material has entered Resende.

Planners hope the Resende centrifuges will supply 60 percent of the enriched uranium needed for Brazil's Angra I and Agra II nuclear power plants, located in Angra dos Reis, some 110 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Rio de Janeiro.

Planners also hope Brazil can export enriched uranium by 2014.

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