Navy Will Allow Nuclear Cargo Through Port in Charleston, SC

Paraphrased by:
Steve Waldrop
February 2, 2004

The U.S. Navy said that it will allow a defunct nuclear reactor from California to pass through the old Charleston Naval Base en route to a disposal site located in Barnwell, South Carolina.

However, there's a potential standoff with two South American countries, Argentina and Chile, who don't want the reactor passing too close to their coastlines.

The Navy has agreed that Charleston Marine Manufacturing Corp. May handle the 668- ton reactor from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

The plan is to ship the reactor by barge from California about 11,000 miles around the southern tip of South America to Charleston. The reactor would be the first to be moved in California and the nation's first to be shipped around the tip of South America. The trip is expected to take about three months.

From Charleston, a special train will take the reactor about 90 miles inland to a nuclear waste site in Barnwell.

Navy spokesman, Jim Beltz, said that The Navy wanted to complete the transfer so the company would accept all liability for the shipment.

But last week, an Argentine judge banned the reactor from passing with 200 miles of that country's coastline.

International conventions recognize territorial waters as extending 12 miles from the shoreline.

Nations such as Chile and Argentina, however, claim a larger zone to protect marine and fishing resources.

Total decommissioning costs are expected to react $500 million.