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Plutonium Shipment
Plutonium Arrives Safely in Canada
By JOHN FLESHER Associated Press Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A shipment of weapons-grade plutonium arrived
safely in
Canada early Friday after passing through Michigan overnight, a congressman
said.
``We are very pleased that there has not been a problem,'' Rep. Bart Stupak
said. ``Everything has
arrived safely. There has been no harm to our environment, or the health or
safety of northern
Michigan.'' Stupak had pushed for greater safety measures after the
shipment was announced in
September.
The controversial shipment was part of the Parallex Project, a joint
American-Russian experiment
to determine whether commercial nuclear reactors in Canada can use material
from
decommissioned Russian nuclear weapons as fuel.
The plutonium - 4.2 ounces - was sent from a laboratory in New Mexico to a
nuclear reactor in
Chalk River, Ontario.
The shipment drew sharp opposition from many Michigan officials and
citizens, who said trucking
the radioactive material across the state - including over the Mackinac
Bridge - posed great
danger.
A federal judge last month rejected a request by environmental groups to
block the shipment.
Federal officials said the experiment was crucial to U.S. efforts to help
Russia dismantle nuclear
weapons. They insisted it would be a one-time event, although critics said
they believed it would
be only the first of many shipments of nuclear material through Michigan.
``Because of the input of the people of northern Michigan, we've had much
greater safety and
security on the shipment and it arrived safely,'' Stupak said. ``Without
our objections, those extra
safety precautions never would have take place.''
Stupak's office was not notified of the shipment until it had nearly
reached its destination,
spokesman Bob Meissner said. It apparently crossed the International Bridge
at Sault Ste. Marie
around 4 a.m., he said.
At a public hearing last fall in Sault Ste. Marie, some protesters
threatened to place their own
bodies in the truck's path to keep it from crossing the bridge.
No details were immediately available on the route taken. Earlier, the
Energy Department had said
the truck would cross the Lower Peninsula using Interstates 94, 69 and 75.
Donald P. Mercado
Radiation Safety Officer
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space
O/EK-20, B/101
1111 Lockheed Martin Way
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Ph. (408) 742-0759
Fax (408) 742-0611
Email: Don.mercado@lmco.com
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