Weapons-Grade Plutonium Ships 'On One-off Exercise'

"Two ships bringing weapons-grade plutonium across the Atlantic towards the UK were ferrying the cargo as a one-off exercise, a United States government official said tonight.

The UK registered vessels Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal were carrying the material for the US National Nuclear Security Administration.

The plutonium is being carried by vessels operated by the PNTL shipping company, whose main shareholder is British Nuclear Fuels ltd.

The ships are being tracked by environmentalists from Greenpeace, whose spokesman said tonight he understood the ships were around 24 hours from the Western Approaches.

NNSA spokesman Bryan Wilkes said from Washington DC tonight that the plutonium was being shipped across the Atlantic as a result of an agreement between the USA and Russia to dispose of N-weapons grade plutonium.

The plutonium was being sent to a nuclear re-processing plant at Cadarache in southern France � a facility not yet available in the USA.


Shaun Burnie, nuclear co-ordinator for Greenpeace International, said the shipment �did not need to happen�.

He added: �This is bomb material that cannot be, and should not be, treated as if you�re just handling bananas or something.�"

Weapons-Grade Plutonium Ships 'On One-off Exercise'

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[edit on 2004/9/30 by Hellmutt]

I didn�t realize there was already a thread about this.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

No one told me, so...
Might as well close this thread, I guess.