diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index d5c76b39..4de6f7ad 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -99,8 +99,10 @@ target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS})
 check_library_exists(atomic __atomic_load_8 "" HAVE_LIBATOMICS)
 
 if(HAVE_LIBATOMICS AND NOT WIN32)
-  # Exporting link flag since it won't pass ament_export_libraries() existence check
-  ament_export_link_flags("-latomic")
+  # Link libatomic into rcutils for fault injection atomic operations.
+  # Don't export it - downstream packages get atomic symbols transitively
+  # through librcutils.so, avoiding library resolution issues in containerized
+  # environments. See https://github.com/ros2/rcutils/issues/525
   target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} atomic)
 endif()