Here’s why the DOE's secret plutonium shipment is making Yucca Mountain foes nervous
Reno Gazette-Journal | 2/1/2019
There’s perhaps only one marquee issue that has consistently united Nevada politicians over the past few decades: Opposition to storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.
From Democratic former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid to Republican ex-Gov. Brian Sandoval, Nevada’s top elected leaders have always managed to form a bipartisan bulwark against federal efforts to transport nuclear waste to the site about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Some positioned themselves as the last line of defense preventing Nevada from becoming the nation’s nuclear waste dump. Others famously threatened to lie down on Las Vegas-area railroad tracks to prevent the waste deliveries.
Almost all have been similarly enthusiastic about opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s oft-derided plan to ship weapons-grade plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site, located about 40 miles north of Yucca.
Then, on Wednesday, the Energy Department disclosed it already had shipped a half-ton of the radioactive bomb-making material to the site, even before Nevada sued to block the effort in November.
NUCLEAR SAFETY
Nuclear safety board announces open meeting date regarding oversight role
ECA Staff | 2/5/2019
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) published a meeting notice in the Federal Register regarding an upcoming hearing on February 21 in Albuquerque, NM. The hearing's purpose is "(1) to gather information from DOE Field Offices regarding DNFSB interfaces and
access to information, facilities, and personnel managed; and (2) receive input from the public regarding the role of independent oversight and interfaces between DNFSB and the Department of Energy (DOE)." The meeting will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Session 1, which will take place from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., will include input from the Field Managers for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office, the Office of Environmental Management (EM) Los Alamos Field Office, the EM Carlsbad Field Office, and the NNSA Sandia Field Office. Session 2, held from 7:15 - 9:00 p.m., will allow members of the public to provide comments on "the role of the independent oversight and interfaces between DNFSB and
DOE."
|
Learn more about DOE's cleanup sites with ECA's new DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, DOE stakeholders, and other parties who may be interested in learning more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
|
|
|
|
