S.C. Governor Sends Troopers to Borders to Stop Government Shipments of Plutonium

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 6/15/02 | Associated Press

[DoveTurnedHawk]

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

[snip]

But Hodges has said he fears the government will end up leaving the plutonium permanently in South Carolina, making the state a tempting target for terrorists.

Hodges, a Democrat who is up for re-election in the fall, has been threatening for weeks to use state troopers to block roads into the Savananna River Site and has vowed to lie down in the road if necessary to stop the plutonium-carrying trucks.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I'd wish his men would disregard him, but they won't, if he puts them in harms way, they he should be brought up on charges.

No problem, if any shooting occurs, Hodges gets put to death! Kind of hard to be elected from the grave! (Of course, Dem voters find it easy to VOTE from the grave!)

[stainlessbanner]

At first, I thought this article was going to be about another stupid NAACP rally.....but Hodges must be up to something. I applaud him for taking a stand, though.

Check out post 50 - Is there a Dr. Dixie in the house?

[meyer]

If the Feds are so sure everything is safe why don't they store this stuff in Wash DC.

Come to think of it, Washington DC just might be a better place than the Yucca Mountain area. I mean except for the Capital, its a comparable wasteland.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"A States' Right Bump indeed! Maybe he read something on FR that reminded him of a backbone?"

Maybe he read about the Republican Governor of Nevada standing up to
Washington DC's plan to dump nuclear waste at Yucca Mtn.

[cgbg]

This is a total joke. All the Feds have to do is impound South Carolina's Medicaid matching funds. Within twenty four hours the governor would cave.

roflmao

[billbears]

I have read information that completely contradicts your statement about birth defects, and an increase in cancers

Stylin, I don't care if the stuff makes Tropical Punch Green Colored Lemonade!! I don't care if it's harmful or not. Contrary to the belief of some statists around here, the 14th Amendment(illegally passed) and any ensuing politically motivated SCOTUS decisions (Texas v White) does not give the general government the right to go dumping anything they please around the nation as if we were one big happy family and Denver's backyard is 2000 miles away. The fact is the states DO have rights to do what they feel is best within their own borders. If they don't let's start wiping out the border lines between states and we'll all just be part of the Amurican Empire. But the Founders felt (and rightly so) that government at the local level was best because local leaders KNEW THEIR CITIZENS. The general government has overstepped it bounds for so long, most not only don't remember the principles that this nation was established under, they actually accept it as a given that the general government is supposed to have this much power!!

I for one applaud Hodges this one time, and yes this is a politically motivated action, but if it stands up I can only pray we can start turning the feds back and get this nation back to where it is SUPPOSED to be

[pray4liberty]

This is a total joke. All the Feds have to do is impound South Carolina's Medicaid matching funds. Within twenty four hours the governor would cave.

Alas, the Golden Rule...he who has the gold, makes the rules!

[4CJ]

:o)

If the legislators/congress-critters had to abide by the same rules as the rest of us (pension, insurance, perks, security etc) then a lot of this BS would never see the light of day.

Dim. Republican or whatever - I'm all for anyone to stand up to the federal government when it is wrong. The Constitution enumerates certain limited powers that were delegated by the people. The states existed before the fedgov, and "we the people" are the masters, and it's time we acted like it.

[Babsig]

I heard the debate also, and totally agree that Hodges is using this for political grandstanding. Most South Carolinians could care less that this stuff is going to SRS.

I would like to see a stand off between feds and state troopers. It would make him look like the total idiot he is. The real question I would like answered: Is Hodges and Elmer Fudd the same person?

[stylin_geek]

I agree that States do need to tell the state when to stop. I would argue, though, that what we have here is weapons grade plutonium that is going to be downgraded to reactor grade fissile material. Weapons grade plutonium (in and of itself, I might add, a virulent poison, never mind highly radioactive) was created for national defense purposes, and is now being transferred to a national facility to be reprocessed in to something that is useable by private industry.

I would also ask, what if this were a private business trying to move raw materials in to a State, and the governor of the State called out (or threatened to call out) State Troopers to stop the transportation of the materials? Especially if the only factory the business owned that could handle the raw material was located in the State?

[stylin_geek]

Great, after I reply to billbears, I see a posting that has far better information about what is going to happen with the nuclear material that is being transported. I would ask, seriously, why would nuclear fuel being spent on one pass be better than something that continues to breed fuel?

[Sloth]

...has vowed to lie down in the road if necessary to stop the plutonium-carrying trucks.

What a complete and total idiot. He's also compromising security by doing this.

[bybybill]

This is just the latest fool trying to scare people with nuclear fears. Hodges must be way behind in the polls.

[Arkinsaw]

This is a total joke. All the Feds have to do is impound South Carolina's Medicaid matching funds. Within twenty four hours the governor would cave.

You are right, that's how they are controlling us.....by bribing us with our own money. But I'm not roflmao about it.

[Arkinsaw]

Why not the Nat'l Guard? Isn't the Guard suppose to be the organized militia for the people?

Because they can be federalized right out from under him. Nope, the National Guard will sit this one out unless the feds call them up.

[TiaS]

The health and welfare of every single person in that state is the governor's concern -- national security begins there.

[drmatt]

The current generation of light water reactors (LWRs) use a fuel that is lowly enriched in fissile (vs. fertile) isotopes, and this fuel can only be irradiated to a few percent burnup. Because this fuel is low in fissile content, it is high in fertile content, and the fertile material breeds plutonium. The fertile fuel is required for reactivity control (read SAFETY) reasons. The Modular Helium Reactor can directly utilize highly enriched, almost purely fissile fuel, and burn it down to practically a cinder in one pass without any safety implications. Enormous benefits with regard to fuel-cycle economics (more bang for your buck), proliferation risks (no recycle of fissile material), and as I described in the previous post, the reactor design is passively safe and the final waste form is a fuel particle that is coated with multiple layers of highly inert ceramics. I'm sure you've heard of the containment buildings on the current generation of reactors. Well for the MHR, we have engineered miniature "containment buildings" for each fuel particle. The fuel particles are about the size of a poppy seed, but they are carefully engineered structures. All the parts for this technology are in place. The Department of Energy remains the only obstacle.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Every State has an obligation to its citizens to stand against Federal imperialism / un-Constitutional acts. Good for S.C.!

[stylin_geek]

Amazing, a government agency standing in the way of technology. /sarcasm.

I know a lot about the "current" containment structures, and they are amazing pieces of engineering. I put quotes around "current," because the "current" containment buildings are based on what, 40 to 50 year old designs? So, it does not come as a huge surprise there is a better design out there. What, if any, fuel limitations does MHR have?