"Utah Governor Turns Back Two Uranium Trains"

"SALT LAKE CITY -- Planned shipments of depleted uranium from the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear materials processing center in South Carolina will not be shipped to Utah under an agreement negotiated Monday by Utah Governor Gary Herbert.

'This is a monumental win for the State of Utah,' Governor Herbert said. 'At one point, we were told these trains were all but on the tracks, making their way to Utah. The Department of Energy has now agreed, after we registered our concerns, that those trains will head elsewhere.'

The governor emphasized that, in addition to halting planned shipments, 'the Department of Energy has agreed it will take back the depleted uranium it sent in December if we cannot implement disposal processes that ensure the long-term health and safety of all Utahns.'"

Environment News Service had the story February 25, 2010.