Vol.61/No.36           October 20, 1997 
 
 
1,000 Protest Plutonium Rocket Launch  
Some 1,000 people rallied October 4 at the gates of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to protest the launching of a Cassini space probe carrying 72.3 pounds of plutonium-one of the deadliest substances on earth. The plutonium is used to power electrical instruments. The rocket assigned to the Cassini sprang a fuel leak in early August, postponing the launch. NASA said that there was a 1- in-450 chance of a plutonium release, and that such an event would scatter plutonium over six counties, with some 2 million people.  
 
 
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