1 metric ton of plutonium is gone from our backyard, according to federal authorities.

Where it went is still a mystery.

The US Department of Energy said last week it has removed not less than one metric ton – 2,205 pounds – of plutonium from the Savannah River Site.

The site is 45 miles from Lexington where many county residents commute for work daily.

DOE complied with an injunction from Federal District Judge Michelle Childs.

Congress passed a law requiring that the plutonium be removed from the Savannah River Site by January 1, 2016 if the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Facility’s production objective was not met by January 1, 2014.

That objective was not met, and SC Attorney General Alan Wilson of Lexington sued the Department of Energy in 2016.

The District Court sided with the state and ordered that 1 metric ton of plutonium be removed by January 1, 2020. The Department of Energy appealed to the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the District Court’s order.

Wilson said, “Today’s news that 1 ton of weapons-grade plutonium has been removed from the state is a victory for South Carolinians and the rule of law.

“The Department of Energy disregarded many of its obligations to the state, and this outcome confirms the state will not sit idly by while the Department does so. We will continue to enforce the law and hold the federal government to its commitments to South Carolina and its citizens.”

How much is left in the SPS nuclear stockpile has not been disclosed.