Earthquakes shake up Yucca Mountain nuke dump talk in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Recent California earthquakes that rattled Las Vegas have shaken up arguments by proponents and opponents of a stalled federal plan to entomb nuclear waste at a site in southern Nevada.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso said this week his legislation to jump-start efforts to open Yucca Mountain is based on studies that take seismic activity into account.

Advocates say spent nuclear reactor fuel from 121 sites in 35 states would be safer at Yucca Mountain.

Nevada officials disagree, and the earthquakes during the July Fourth holiday appeared to have bolstered their arguments.

Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Las Vegas called the quakes a reminder of how dangerous it would be to make Nevada what she calls the nation’s nuclear dumping ground.