Plutonium Pollution Worse Than Thought

A uranium-processing plant in Kentucky polluted its surroundings with plutonium to a much greater extent than previously known, the Washington Post reported. The highly radioactive element has turned up in soil and water more than a mile from the fence of the Paducah plant, according to federal tests obtained by the Post. The tests also show elevated levels of plutonium in the Ohio River, two miles away. The concentrations in some areas near the plant were as much as 1,600 times what are considered normal “background” levels.