(Newser)
–
A trio of activists—ranging in age from 57 to 82—busted through security at the country's only weapons-grade uranium processing facility, cutting fences to gain access to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, site on Wednesday. They managed to make it as far as the outer walls of one building where highly enriched uranium is stored, and apparently had time to write slogans, hang up crime-scene tape, and throw what they called human blood on the walls before they were caught, Reuters reports.
Now the three people, among them an 82-year-old-nun, are in custody and the facility is temporarily closed until some time next week. "It is unbelievable this could happen," says a former congressional investigator. "If they were terrorists, they could have blown open the door and got inside." The trio reportedly made their way through four fences and walked for "over two hours" to get to the building, notes Reuters. A fellow activist says the group's intention was not to "show how easy it was to bust into this bomb plant" but to protest the production of nuclear weapons.
