Counties adopt resolution on transporting nuke waste

Tuesday, July 23, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

Although it came after the Senate approved Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository, the National Association of Counties adopted a resolution last week concerning transportation effects of radioactive waste.

The association's resolution urges the Energy Department to address concerns of the counties along the 39-state route on which nuclear waste will be shipped if Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is opened.

"We're very pleased we were able to lobby NACO to adopt a strong resolution urging the DOE to take action and address the grave health and safety risks of shipping 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain," Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera said after the discussion led by former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

"Discharge of radioactive and toxic effluent poses a significant threat," County Commission Yvonne Atkinson Gates said.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa announced a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Grant Sawyer Building. It will outline the seven lawsuits filed against the nuclear repository and future strategies.