(Removes reference in paragraph 5 to fuel plants needing Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, as the plants would be authorized by the Department of Energy)

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Energy expects to begin announcing by December 31 which companies will take about 19.7 metric tons of surplus Cold War-era plutonium for eventual processing into nuclear reactor fuel, a document showed on Wednesday.

Reuters reported in August that the Trump administration planned to offer the weapons-grade plutonium to companies as a potential fuel for reactors. The department issued a document on Tuesday, seen by Reuters, that indicates applications are due by November 21 and selections would begin by the last day of the year.

The plan, if successful, would follow

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