Guv to DOE: Halt nuke shipment planned for Utah

A trainload of depleted uranium was already set to begin rolling toward Utah Tuesday when a letter from Gov. Gary Herbert arrived at the U.S. Energy Department asking the agency to hold off on the shipment. The DU, as depleted uranium is often called, is highly concentrated waste from the cleanup of atomic-weapons making at the government's Savannah River site in South Carolina. And Herbert told Energy Secretary Steven Chu that Utah regulators need more time to make sure the EnergySolutions site in Tooele County can safely contain it. "As governor, my duty is to ensure the public health and safety of all Utahns," Herbert said in the letter. "As such, I ask that you immediately halt this and any future DU shipments from the Savannah River site until Utah completes its rule-making process." But an Energy Department spokeswoman had little to say about the governor's request beyond assuring that a response will come as soon as possible...read more