Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) released the following statement demanding answers into the Department of Energy’s (DOE) potential misclassification and shipment of illegal low-level radioactive waste (LLW) from DOE’s Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, TN. The classified low-level waste was shipped to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) from the Y-12 facility, violating the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC), which establishes the protocols for what type of low-level waste is suitable for disposal at NNSS.
“Last week, we were contacted by the Department of Energy and made aware of the situation. As a result, along with Governor Sisolak we’ve taken immediate action and sent a letter demanding answers from Secretary Perry, and scheduled an immediate classified briefing to ensure there is accountability and oversight on behalf of the State of Nevada,” said the Senators. “Yet again, the DOE has violated its mission, broken Nevadans’ trust and failed to follow its own compliance procedures. We intend to immediately determine whether the mixed waste shipped to Nevada poses a hazard to the health and safety of Nevadans and will take every action necessary to hold the DOE accountable.”