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Revision to reflect its 'expanded mission' Congress set out to modernize the mission of the Nevada Test Site and eventually change the name it's had for the past 57 years with Senate passage Tuesday of the defense authorization bill. The 93-7 vote sent the measure to President Barack Obama with an amendment by Nevada's senators that charges the head of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration with "renaming the site to reflect the expanded mission." That "expanded mission," according to the amendment by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., will focus on developing methods to verify treaties and reduce nuclear security threats "while continuing to support the nation's nuclear weapons program and other national security programs."

Revision to reflect its 'expanded mission' Congress set out to modernize the mission of the Nevada Test Site and eventually change the name it's had for the past 57 years with Senate passage Tuesday of the defense authorization bill. The 93-7 vote sent the measure to President Barack Obama with an amendment by Nevada's senators that charges the head of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration with "renaming the site to reflect the expanded mission." That "expanded mission," according to the amendment by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., will focus on developing methods to verify treaties and reduce nuclear security threats "while continuing to support the nation's nuclear weapons program and other national security programs."

Radioactive tritium in well two miles from detonations had been predicted Scientists have found the first radioactive tritium from nuclear weapons tests in a monitoring outside the Nevada Test Site's boundary. The levels, reported Tuesday by the National Nuclear Security Administration, were within safe drinking water guidelines. The relatively short-lived isotope had migrated two miles through groundwater layers in 35 years to reach the boundary. Sample results were verified by an independent laboratory and reported to state environmental officials, NNSA officials said in a news release. Scientists believe it will take and estimated 240 years for the tritium-laced water to travel another 14 miles to the nearest public water source. By that time it will have decayed to non-detectable limits, said Darwin Morgan, a spokesman for the NNSA's Nevada Site Office. "The big thing to us is it shows the models are accurate and gives us higher confidence in our ability to understand what is going on with deep groundwater," he said Wednesday. Scientists said in July they probably would find tritium after completion of Well EC-11 near the northwest edge of the test site. Underground tests Benham and Tybo were detonated in Pahute Mesa, two miles from that location in 1968 and 1975, respectively.

Radioactive tritium in well two miles from detonations had been predicted Scientists have found the first radioactive tritium from nuclear weapons tests in a monitoring outside the Nevada Test Site's boundary. The levels, reported Tuesday by the National Nuclear Security Administration, were within safe drinking water guidelines. The relatively short-lived isotope had migrated two miles through groundwater layers in 35 years to reach the boundary. Sample results were verified by an independent laboratory and reported to state environmental officials, NNSA officials said in a news release. Scientists believe it will take and estimated 240 years for the tritium-laced water to travel another 14 miles to the nearest public water source. By that time it will have decayed to non-detectable limits, said Darwin Morgan, a spokesman for the NNSA's Nevada Site Office. "The big thing to us is it shows the models are accurate and gives us higher confidence in our ability to understand what is going on with deep groundwater," he said Wednesday. Scientists said in July they probably would find tritium after completion of Well EC-11 near the northwest edge of the test site. Underground tests Benham and Tybo were detonated in Pahute Mesa, two miles from that location in 1968 and 1975, respectively.

Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nev. - A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada. Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers. When testing ended in 1992, the Energy Department estimated that more than 300 million curies of radiation had been left behind, making the site one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the nation. During the era of weapons testing, Nevada embraced its role almost like a patriotic duty. There seemed to be no better use for an empty desert. But today, as Nevada faces a water crisis and

Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nev. - A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada. Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers. When testing ended in 1992, the Energy Department estimated that more than 300 million curies of radiation had been left behind, making the site one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the nation. During the era of weapons testing, Nevada embraced its role almost like a patriotic duty. There seemed to be no better use for an empty desert. But today, as Nevada faces a water crisis and

Sen. Harry Reid says the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is changing position to support a key measure for compensating sick former Nevada Test Site workers. Reid, D-Nev., said Wednesday the next step is for the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to approve the NIOSH "special cohort status" recommendation next month. The designation lets case evaluators attribute illnesses to work at the nation's nuclear proving ground north of Las Vegas without a cumbersome government "dose reconstruction" process. Former workers complain sick colleagues are dying while the government slowly processes claims for medical benefits and $150,000 payments under a program created by Congress in 2001. NIOSH has estimated about 500 of workers from the years of underground nuclear tests, 1963 to 1992, could qualify.

Sen. Harry Reid says the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is changing position to support a key measure for compensating sick former Nevada Test Site workers. Reid, D-Nev., said Wednesday the next step is for the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to approve the NIOSH "special cohort status" recommendation next month. The designation lets case evaluators attribute illnesses to work at the nation's nuclear proving ground north of Las Vegas without a cumbersome government "dose reconstruction" process. Former workers complain sick colleagues are dying while the government slowly processes claims for medical benefits and $150,000 payments under a program created by Congress in 2001. NIOSH has estimated about 500 of workers from the years of underground nuclear tests, 1963 to 1992, could qualify.