The Nation - News from Sept. 29, 1989

Three citizens groups, claiming “a potential disaster in the making over Florida,” filed suit to prevent the launch of a nuclear-powered probe on the space shuttle next month. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends an accident during the launch of the nuclear-powered Galileo space probe could spread poisonous plutonium over a heavily populated area of Florida. Bruce Gagnon of the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice said that if the lawsuit is not successful, his organization plans “to put people into the launch area, to sit on top of the launch pad in an effort to stop the launch.” The other groups involved in the suit were the Christic Institute and the Foundation on Economic Trends.