nuclear-news

Presidential candidates join Nevada’s nuclear waste fight, SF Gate, Michelle L. Price, Associated Press , May 3, 2019  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s long crusade to block the creation of a national nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain has pitted the state against a bipartisan group of lawmakers across the country, but a band of presidential hopefuls is joining the early voting state’s cause.

Nevada’s senior senator, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, has legislation that would bar the federal government from moving nuclear waste into a state without first receiving permission from the governor and local officials. Last year, Nevada’s two senators were the only sponsors of the measure.

This year, they’ve got company in Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The six senators’ move to establish opposition to the mothballed Yucca Mountain project is an appeal long-made by presidential candidates hoping to win favor in Nevada, which holds a pivotal role as a swing state and the third state to vote in the Democratic presidential contest.