YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsGeorge Bush   Nuclear Idea
Meets Resistance in Nevada  May 18, 2001|From Associated Press
RENO — Lawmakers from Nevada said Thursday they feared that
President Bush's plan to expand nuclear energy would create more
pressure to build a high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca
Mountain, 90 miles north of Las Vegas.  Bush's new energy plan
calls for the "safe expansion" of nuclear energy by establishing
a national repository for nuclear waste. It does not specify
whether the repository should be built at Yucca Mountain.  "The
. . . plan promotes nuclear power as a miracle fix to our
nation's energy woes, just as it was 30 years ago--and we still
don't have a solution for the safe disposal of radioactive
waste," said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).  Rep. Jim Gibbons
(R-Nev.) agreed, saying, "Until we solve the nuclear waste
issue, it is not a viable alternative in my view.  "While
nuclear energy may be the cleanest energy-producing material for
the environment, it leaves the highest