Judge denies South Carolina governor's request to halt plutonium shipments

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - A federal judge Thursday denied South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges&#39; request to delay shipments of weapons-grade plutonium to South Carolina. <br> <br> The shipments from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons installation in Colorado could begin as early as this weekend. <br> <br> Hodges has threatened to use state troopers to block roads leading into the Savannah River Site nuclear weapons complex here. He has even vowed to lie down in the road if necessary to stop the plutonium-laden trucks. <br> <br> Hodges&#39; attorney William Want said the governor would file an appeal immediately. <br> <br> The U.S. Energy Department wants to ship the plutonium from Rocky Flats, which is being cleaned up and closed, to the Savannah River Site, where it would be converted into reactor fuel over the next two decades. <br> <br> But Hodges has said he fears the government will break its word and leave the plutonium at Savannah River permanently. He has warned that the plutonium would ``paint a bull&#39;s-eye on South Carolina&#39;&#39; and make it a terrorist target. <br> <br> The shipments were set to begin May 15th but were put on hold for a month to see how the lawsuit played out. <br> <br> The state had argued among other things that the Energy Department failed to complete necessary environmental impact statements. The governor wanted U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie to delay the shipments until new environmental studies could be done, a process that could take years.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/202123