Borders Fortified in Bid to Keep Out Plutonium

Gov. Jim Hodges ordered state troopers and other authorities to South Carolina’s borders to stop federal shipments of plutonium that could begin arriving from Colorado as early as this weekend.

Hodges, who has vehemently opposed the shipments, read a statement in Columbia declaring a state of emergency but refused to answer any questions about specific plans for roadblocks or other barricades at the Savannah River Site, a nuclear weapon complex near Aiken.

A federal judge on Thursday refused to block the shipments of weapon-grade plutonium. Hodges appealed and asked for a delay until the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals could hear the case.

The Energy Department plans to move the material from the Rocky Flats weapon installation in Colorado, which is being closed. At the Savannah River site, the material would be converted into nuclear reactor fuel over the next two decades.