Nuclear waste shipments leave Nevada for Idaho
NORTH LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Nevada Test Site says the last of 65 truckloads of repackaged radioactive waste has been shipped to Idaho, pending final disposal at the federal Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.
National Nuclear Security Administration spokeswoman Kelly Snyder said Thursday the transuranic waste is due to arrive Friday for inspection at the Idaho National Laboratory outside Idaho Falls.
The NNSA announced the shipment marked the end of a 35-year process of inspecting and repackaging materials generated mostly during nuclear research and development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
It said workers checked 1,942 drums and 78 boxes to determine contents, gauge radioactivity and screen out prohibited items.
Snyder says there has been no radioactivity exposure to workers since the shipping campaign began in January 2004.
Man killed self after starting Reno fire
RENO (AP) - The man who died at the site of an explosion and house fire in Reno apparently lit the fire himself and then took his own life.
Reno Fire Department spokesman Steve Frady says investigators believe the victim spread gasoline in the house then ignited it about 10 a.m. on Wednesday before he committed suicide.
He says the explosion that blew out the house's windows and shook an entire neighborhood was a result of the fire ignited gasoline vapors. Investigators found two gasoline cans in the single-family home that was destroyed on the city's northwest side.
Frady says the victim is believed to be the man who lived at the house, but his name has not been released and the actual cause of death has not been established.
High voter registration in state
(AP) - Nearly 80 percent of eligible Nevadans are now registered to vote, according to the secretary of state's office.
As of July 1, just over 1.3 million or 77.6 percent of eligible residents were registered to vote. That's up from 72.6 percent at this time two years ago.
"This trend is very encouraging," said Secretary of State Ross Miller."These numbers reflect the efforts of many individuals, organizations, and agencies, including me and my staff, who have been working hard to promote participatory democracy."
Nevada gets $1.2M for petroleum cleanup
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that Nevada will get more than $1.2 million in federal stimulus funds to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks.
Leaking underground tanks can release petroleum or other hazardous substances into the soil and can contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans.
The money announced Thursday is part of $197 million in stimulus funds going to sites across the U.S. that are contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks.
The EPA regional underground storage tank program is entering into an agreement with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for the project.
Sweep nets 409 fugitives last month
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Federal officials in Nevada say they made 409 felony arrests last month of fugitives sought for charges from murder to drug trafficking.
U.S. Marshal Gary Orton said Thursday that 32 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies took part in the sweep, dubbed Operation Falcon 2009.
U.S. Attorney for Nevada Gregory Brower says no shots were fired and no injuries were reported in the cases.
While the sweep lasted two weeks, officials tallied 409 arrests for all of June.
Operation Falcon was launched nationwide in 2005, with 67 arrests in Nevada.
In 2008, 211 fugitives were arrested in Nevada during a five-day sweep.
Orton says almost 50 fugitives apprehended in June were suspected gang members.