Documents say plutonium storage site structurally sound

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - Federal documents released following a lawsuit by The Associated Press and other media organizations show the long-term plutonium storage site at the Savannah River Site is structurally sound and can withstand an earthquake. <br> <br> The media companies sued the Energy Department after it said hundreds of pages of documents should be sealed under a federal law limiting the release of nuclear information. <br> <br> Media attorney Jay Bender argued that the materials fail to meet the standard for being kept secret. The two sides reached an agreement to seal only a few of the documents the DOE considered sensitive. <br> <br> Even though photographs showed cracks in at least five areas of the K Reactor building, a July 2000 study concluded the present condition of the building ... is acceptable without further evaluation or testing. <br> <br> Westinghouse Incorporated, which operates SRS for the Energy Department, conducted the survey and recommended a follow-up in 2005. <br> <br> Westinghouse said cracks and pieces of loose and fallen concrete found in other areas of the K Reactor complex, were not active cracks, since readings taken about nine months apart showed no movement. <br> <br> A May 1992 study of whether the reactor could withstand an earthquake concluded the building ``will not suffer gross structural failure.&#39;&#39;

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