Weapons-grade plutonium is, you know, dangerous. Alongside Russia the US has agreed to reprocess some its stocks of this materia into something less lethal (a mixed oxide fuel). Good idea. There’s too much of this stuff around. Here’s the catch. Because the US does not yet have the facilities to reprocess this material in this way, it’s sending it to France. According to a report published in the WSJ (link requires subscription, but here’s another report on this story), once in France the plutonium will have a 600 mile journal along French highways and “Islamist terrorists have specifically discussed targeting plutonium-reprocessing shipments in France for theft or attack.” Some Democrats in Congress have, and I don’t blame them, expressed concerns over the safety of these arrangements. The Energy Department is saying there is nothing to worry about, but is this sort of work really something that should be delegated?