LAS VEGAS, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Washington is considering establishing a new consolidated plutonium center at Nevada's Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Sun reported on Nov. 26 that federal officials are convening in Las Vegas this week to discuss an extensive overhaul of America's nuclear weapons facilities.
One of the proposals under consideration by the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration could result in plutonium being manufactured at the 1,400-square-mile Nevada Test Site, one of the eight sites in the national research and production system. In 1989 the Department of Energy closed its former manufacturing site, the Rocky Flats Plant outside Denver.
Among the positive considerations for situating the new facility at the Nevada Test Site are its relative isolation and extensive, existing security systems.
A number of public advocacy groups are opposed to the plan.
