Where to Put Thousands of Casks of Toxic Mercury? Not in My Backyard.

A new political fight is brewing over where to locate a mercury storage facility, as state officials and residents around the seven sites in consideration have grown alarmed at the prospect of the federal government forcing thousands of casks of the toxic metal on them. Ironically, the conflict began when the federal government passed a law to forbid sending the dangerous metal abroad, but nobody seems eager to keep it at home. Last year, then-Senator Barack Obama sponsored a bill