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Nevada, Utah tribes join protest against plutonium shipments

Posted at 1:54 PM, Mar 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-25 16:55:09-04

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Thirteen tribes in Nevada and western Utah are urging President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Rick Perry to suspend any shipments of weapons-grade plutonium to a site north of Las Vegas.

Tribal leaders say they share the state's concerns that they were not informed or consulted about a half metric ton (1,102 pounds) of the radioactive material the government secretly shipped to Nevada over the state's objections last year.

Las Vegas Paiute Tribe Chairman Chris Spotted Eagle says his tribe has two reservations in downtown Las Vegas and the northwestern part of the Las Vegas Valley that sit along the transportation routes that may have been used to truck the plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site.

Energy Department officials confirmed last week they are working with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto to expedite removal of the plutonium from Nevada.