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"Is an 'area of haze of unknown composition' that crossed into California last week the remnants of a radioactive dust storm from China? Is another on the way? :::::::: On March 17 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that "an area of haze of unknown composition and origin has entered the US along the central California coast and stretched northeastward across southeast Oregon and into southwest Montana.' The next day, the NOAA tracked the progress of this alien air mass to southwest Nevada: 'Areas of blowing dust are spreading S[outh] across parts of the western US....In Nevada blowing dust can be seen moving S[outh]across the counties of Mineral, Lyon and Churchill." As you keep going east from Lyon and Churchill counties to Mineral county, and then over two more counties, you get to the city of Las Vegas where at 10:00 A.M. that day (March 18) a radiation monitoring station outside the Atomic Testing Museum began to go haywire. "

"President Obama has told his Department of Energy to stop developing the high-level nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain, but it's not that simple. A legal battle has developed with three locations filing suit to stop the withdrawal, arguing the Department of Energy doesn't have the authority to close down the proposed dump in Southern Nevada. Nevada and the Energy Department have joined to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to withhold any rulings on the suits until the administrative issues are settled before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

"The Department of Energy on Thursday served notice that it will appeal a decision that could delay plans to officiallly kill the Yucca Mountain project, a proposed nuclear waste facility just outside Las Vegas that was axed by President Obama shortly after taking office. The department challenges an order by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission earlier this week that a federal appeals court rule on legal issues involving the shut-down, including whether the department had the authority to pull the plug on the controversial project."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, reversing a decision not to act until the courts have, issued an order today that says it will rule on the DOE's motion to withdraw the Yucca Mountain repository license application. The order is at right."

"The Department of Energy has been given the green light to move full speed ahead with its shutdown plans for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste program. A federal appeals court late Monday dismissed a request to freeze termination activities until later this year, after judges have weighed lawsuits challenging the shutdown. The order clears the way for the DOE to resume dismantling the Nevada waste repository program that the Obama administration wants to shelve. Remaining federal employees were given pre-layoff notices earlier this year, and the DOE was scheduled to issue a termination letter to the project's management contractor. "We welcome the court's decision," DOE spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller said. "It means the court agreed that the department can proceed with winding down the Yucca project responsibly while the litigation proceeds so as not to needlessly waste taxpayer money." Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the repository's leading opponent, said the DOE "will resume shutting down the Yucca Mountain Project almost immediately.""

"Ever since he became a member of Congress in 1999, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has been fighting to bring justice to the issue of compensation for uranium workers and downwinders. "My father had a 30 year crusade for justice in the case of the miners and the downwinders, and during the course of that 30 years, he probably involved most of our family. While I was in private practice I worked with him on many of these cases," Udall said last week regarding his introduction of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2010. Udall's father, Stewart Udall, who passed away last month at age 90, was a former Secretary of the Interior and a strong advocate of compensation for Navajo uranium miners. He was instrumental in getting the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act of 1990 passed and testified to its inadequacies at a June 5, 1993, congressional hearing in Shiprock."

"The state of Nevada filed a motion Monday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, asking it to approve the application of the Department of Energy to pull out of Yucca Mountain. The regulatory commission will hold hearings in Las Vegas on June 3-4 on the application to withdraw. The petition, signed by Texas attorney Charles Fitzpatrick, says the regulatory commission "cannot second-guess an applicant's decision to withdraw a license application.""

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

Report: Energy Department on verge of abandoning nuke dump application We have cheered the Obama administration's decision to eventually shutter the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project by starving it of federal funding. Nonetheless, our optimism has been tempered because the Energy Department still has a pending license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. What we eagerly await is the day when the Energy Department abandons the application so that the idea of forcing a potentially deadly nuke waste dump, on a state that does not want it, is buried for good.

Report: Energy Department on verge of abandoning nuke dump application We have cheered the Obama administration's decision to eventually shutter the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project by starving it of federal funding. Nonetheless, our optimism has been tempered because the Energy Department still has a pending license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. What we eagerly await is the day when the Energy Department abandons the application so that the idea of forcing a potentially deadly nuke waste dump, on a state that does not want it, is buried for good.

Report: Energy Department on verge of abandoning nuke dump application We have cheered the Obama administration's decision to eventually shutter the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project by starving it of federal funding. Nonetheless, our optimism has been tempered because the Energy Department still has a pending license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. What we eagerly await is the day when the Energy Department abandons the application so that the idea of forcing a potentially deadly nuke waste dump, on a state that does not want it, is buried for good.

Energy Department still needs to abandon license application Nevada has been fighting for more than 20 years efforts by the federal government to build a dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, a mere 90 miles northwest of the heavily populated Las Vegas Valley. Despite the clout of the nuclear power industry, things have begun to go Nevada's way. Thanks to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the actions of the Obama administration, funding for the ill-conceived project is drying up. The only major hurdle that remains is to have the Energy Department withdraw its license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent Yucca dump. It is only after that application is abandoned for good that Nevadans can truly rejoice.

Energy Department still needs to abandon license application Nevada has been fighting for more than 20 years efforts by the federal government to build a dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, a mere 90 miles northwest of the heavily populated Las Vegas Valley. Despite the clout of the nuclear power industry, things have begun to go Nevada's way. Thanks to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the actions of the Obama administration, funding for the ill-conceived project is drying up. The only major hurdle that remains is to have the Energy Department withdraw its license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent Yucca dump. It is only after that application is abandoned for good that Nevadans can truly rejoice.

Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time. But she can look through the window from her kitchen table, just past her backyard with its swingset and pet llama, and see an ominous sign on a neighboring fence: "Danger: Uranium Mine." For almost a decade, people who make their homes in this rural community in the Mason Valley 65 miles southeast of Reno have blamed that enormous abandoned mine for the high levels of uranium in their water wells.

Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time. But she can look through the window from her kitchen table, just past her backyard with its swingset and pet llama, and see an ominous sign on a neighboring fence: "Danger: Uranium Mine." For almost a decade, people who make their homes in this rural community in the Mason Valley 65 miles southeast of Reno have blamed that enormous abandoned mine for the high levels of uranium in their water wells.

Recruiting a nuclear power plant is on the mind of eastern Nevada mayor The mayor of Ely in eastern Nevada foresees a day when the mines that give employment to residents of his small city begin petering out. So a goal of starting now on a plan to diversify Ely's economy would be understandable. What is not understandable, however, is the direction he has taken to achieve this goal. In a state that has vigorously fought for more than 25 years against a federal plan to locate a dump for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and in a state that suffers from a scarcity of water, Mayor Jon Hickman is advocating for a nuclear power plant.

Recruiting a nuclear power plant is on the mind of eastern Nevada mayor The mayor of Ely in eastern Nevada foresees a day when the mines that give employment to residents of his small city begin petering out. So a goal of starting now on a plan to diversify Ely's economy would be understandable. What is not understandable, however, is the direction he has taken to achieve this goal. In a state that has vigorously fought for more than 25 years against a federal plan to locate a dump for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and in a state that suffers from a scarcity of water, Mayor Jon Hickman is advocating for a nuclear power plant.

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.