The Nation : EPA Inspectors Enter Ohio Nuclear Plant

Federal investigators entered a nuclear weapons plant in Ohio unannounced looking into allegations of mishandling of hazardous wastes, the plant operator said. Agents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Chicago arrived at the Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald, about 18 miles north of Cincinnati, armed with videotape cameras, said Pete Kelley, a spokesman for Westinghouse Materials Co. of Ohio, which runs the plant. EPA officials declined to comment beyond saying an investigation was under way. The plant is owned by the U.S. Energy Department. It processes uranium for nuclear weapons, although last week Westinghouse stopped production indefinitely. The EPA inquiry coincided with the start of an Energy Department plant inspection.