South Carolina Blocks Shipments of Plutonium

Date: June 13, 2002

Source: News Room

South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges has ordered state troopers to stop any shipments of bomb-grade plutonium bound for the Energy Department's Savannah River Site nuclear complex in his state. The department is closing the Rocky Flats nuclear facility near Denver and wants to store plutonium in South Carolina until it is recycled into power plant fuel. Hodges sued, saying he fears the government won't build the recycling plant and will turn his state into "a dumping ground" for plutonium. A federal judge dismissed the suit, saying a blockade would be illegal and a target for terrorists.

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