The Nation - News from Nov. 30, 1988

The only U.S. plant that makes tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to boost the yield of nuclear weapons, will not be able to resume production until at least next spring or summer because of persistent safety concerns, Energy Secretary John S. Herrington said. Just last month, Energy Department officials said their Savannah River Plant, near Aiken, S.C., would begin a phased restart of its K reactor in December, and that it could resume production of tritium in January. None of the three reactors at Savannah River have produced weapons material since last April. “We are not going to start up or operate a reactor that we are not satisfied is totally safe,” Herrington said in an interview.