Plutonium Shipment
A us federal judge has cleared the way for the shipment of plutonium from Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Canada by refusing to grant an injunction to groups that say the move is illegal. The order from Judge Richard A Enslen of the western district of Michigan also vacates a temporary restraining order he issued on December 7. The plutonium is at the centre of the Parallex Project, an experimental programme involving the US and Russia to dispose of fuel from dismantled nuclear weapons. In a lawsuit filed on December 6 in Michigan's federal court, opponents of the programme said the department's plans violated the National Environmental Policy Act, and did not fully consider the environmental risks.