Antinuclear groups are asking Gov. Mark Sanford to block a federal shipment of radioactive fuel through South Carolina, saying Thursday the material does not have proper government safety approvals.

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor had no comment until he could verify the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s request.

Federal officials said they see no problem in getting safety approvals.

The plutonium-blended fuel, called MOX, will soon arrive in Charleston by ship from France. Because of the atomic fuel’s potential as a terrorist target, it will be hauled in heavily guarded trucks to the Charlotte area. It will then be tested in a Duke Power nuclear reactor between Charlotte and Rock Hill to see if the fuel can be used regularly in U.S. atomic power plants.

Antinuclear activists, who say burning plutonium-blended fuel is dangerous, said the U.S. Department of Energy cannot truck the controversial material to the York County reactor before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission signs off on special conditions required for delivery.

To illustrate their call for Sanford to block shipments, activists hauled a 20-foot-long replica of a nuclear waste container to a street near the Governor’s Mansion on Thursday and held a news conference in the rain.

“We are appealing to Gov. Mark Sanford to use his power,” said Lou Zeller, a nuclear campaign official with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. “The governors in this state have a tradition of standing up for their people and doing whatever it takes. We hope Sanford is part of that.”

In 2002, then-Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, attempted to block shipments of surplus plutonium from Colorado to the Savannah River Site, but he lost his case in federal court. Zeller said that should not deter Republican Sanford from trying to stop shipments.

Activists also called on Sanford to conduct an independent security study for MOX fuel tests and shipments.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy, Duke Power and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday they do not foresee any problems meeting NRC requirements for using MOX.

But NRC spokesman Ken Clark said his agency will have to inspect the York County site to make sure special agency conditions have been met “prior to receipt of the fuel on site.”

MOX, short for mixed oxide fuel, is partially made from plutonium. Plutonium is a key component of nuclear bombs and also can cause cancer if inhaled. The government says it does not need at least 34 metric tons of the material anymore, which prompted the MOX proposal.

Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537 or sfretwell@thestate.com.