Two ships loaded with plutonium and highly enriched uranium from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Fast Critical Assembly reactor arrived Tuesday at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina.
The British-flagged Pacific Egret and Pacific Heron were carrying 331 kg of weapon-usable plutonium. About 236 kg, used for nuclear-reactor testing in Japan, originated in the United Kingdom, while around 93 kg is of U.S. origin and 3 kg is of French origin, according to Savannah River Site Watch, a nongovernmental organization tracking the shipment.
The two ships, which are usually used to transport spent nuclear fuel between Japan and Europe for reprocessing, departed the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, in March and were originally expected to reach their destination last month.