Energy Department says it will remove plutonium from Nevada
Source: Associated Press
Energy Department says it will remove plutonium from Nevada
By SCOTT SONNER
April 30, 2019
RENO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is pledging to expedite the removal of weapons-grade plutonium secretly hauled to Nevada last year as the state and Trump administration remain locked in a court battle about whether the shipment was legal.
The Energy Department intends to start removing the highly radioactive material in 2021 and finish by the end of 2026, Perry said in an April 24 letter to U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat.
He also assured her in the letter released Tuesday that his department won’t ship any more plutonium from South Carolina to the Nevada Nuclear Security Site north of Las Vegas.
As a result, Cortez Masto said she would drop all Senate holds she had placed on pending nominations to fill vacancies in the Energy Department.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/b8646b9b22f54851b0f77fbfa3349385