Weapons Grade Plutonium To Be Removed Over Next 17 Years

A deal has been made to remove 9.5 metric tons of weapons grade plutonium from the Savannah River Plant at Aiken.

Congressional Representative Rep. Jeff Duncan made known his approval in a statement on the agreement between South Carolina and the Department of Energy: “I’ve been fighting for solutions to this problem for years. South Carolina is not a dumping ground for plutonium.”

The agreement provides for a payment of $600 million to South Carolina and there is assurance that all remaining plutonium would be removed from the state by 2037. After the Cold War, the U-S Department of Energy decided the best option for a safe, secure way to dispose of the nuclear material was to irradiate it at a fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River site.