Feds Cancel Research Shipment of Spent Nuclear Fuel to Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal authorities have canceled a proposed research shipment of spent nuclear fuel to eastern Idaho.

Idaho National Laboratory Director Mark Peters in a letter to employees Friday afternoon says the U.S. Department of Energy won't send 25 fuel rods weighing about 100 pounds to the facility. The move comes after federal and state officials couldn't come to terms on a waiver to a 1995 agreement that ties such shipments to nuclear waste cleanup at the 890-square-mile site.

The federal agency is currently in violation of the agreement because of its failure to convert 900,000 gallons of liquid waste into solid form due to malfunctions at a $571 million plant. Two former Idaho governors blasted the proposed shipments when they became known in January. But state officials say they're worth $20 million a year to Idaho.