Media outlets sue to block court from sealing Energy Department records in plutonium suit

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - Several media companies have sued to keep a judge from sealing records in a lawsuit to block federal shipments of weapons-grade plutonium to South Carolina. <br> <br> Arguments were to be heard Thursday before U.S. District Court takes up Gov. Jim Hodges&#39; case. <br> <br> The Energy Department said the records should be sealed under a federal law limiting the release of nuclear information. The documents were described by the agency as pertaining to the long-term storage of nuclear material. <br> <br> The media companies argue the material does not qualify to be kept secret under the law. <br> <br> The federal government wants to begin shipping plutonium from a nuclear complex in Colorado to the Savannah River Site near Aiken as early as this week. The plutonium is to be reprocessed as nuclear fuel. <br> <br> Hodges says he is worried the plutonium might never be reprocessed and might stay in the state indefinitely. <br> <br> Media outlets involved in the litigation include The Associated Press, 13 newspapers, six TV stations, and the state&#39;s press and broadcast associations.