Friday, 14 June 2002
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/20614Nplutonium.html
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
AIKEN, S.C. - A federal judge has slapped down the governor's bid to block plutonium shipments from Colorado, but an appeal and a looming blockade threat leave the timing of shipments uncertain.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie rejected Gov. Jim Hodges' request for an injunction to prevent shipments of surplus plutonium from the Rocky Flats weapons plant near Denver to the Savannah River Site near Aiken.
In four hours of debate in a packed courtroom, Hodges and his attorneys argued that the potential for long-term storage of plutonium had not been studied adequately, as required under federal law.
Currie rejected the argument, citing a 1996 study and supplemental reports done in 1998 and early 2002.
She also rejected the argument that the shipments, which theoretically could start on Saturday, put the state in jeopardy of suffering "irreparable harm."
"It's very hard to establish irreparable harm when the plutonium you will be receiving is already in a safer condition than the plutonium you already have," she said.
Hodges has demanded guarantees that the materials will be processed into fuel for nuclear reactors and eventually moved, not simply stored in the state indefinitely.
All content copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of Arizona Daily Star or AzStarNet is prohibited.