Combination of nuke stockpiles called for

Combination of nuke stockpiles called for: "
Combination of nuke stockpiles called for

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 20 (UPI) -- Combining U.S. stockpiles of nuclear weapons materials could make the substances easier to secure and save billions of dollars, an advocacy group claims.

The Project on Government Oversight, which has often criticized the storage of nuclear materials in the United States, issued a report Thursday calling for the number of storage sites to be reduced to seven from 13. Federal officials had no comment on the report, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

POGO claims using laboratories, such as Los Alamos, N.M., to store nuclear weapons materials increases costs of security. Consolidation would make it easier to guard the material while saving some $3 billion over three years, the group said.

Officials said some of the recommendations in the POGO report had already been implemented and the Energy Department will have a report on consolidation in June, the Journal said.

POGO describes itself as a "politically independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry."

Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.