Desert Earthquake Hits Near Yucca Mountain;
No Injuries or Damage Reported

June 14, 2002
By Ken Ritter Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A mild earthquake rumbled beneath the desert early Friday near Yucca Mountain, the federal government's proposed site for a nuclear waste repository.

No damage or injuries were immediately reported.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 and hit about 5:40 a.m., 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas and about 3 miles beneath the surface, said scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo.

Allen Benson, a federal Department of Energy spokesman for the Yucca Mountain project in Las Vegas, told The Associated Press that about 100 scientists and employees at the site on Friday were not reporting any damage.

Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the site that President Bush picked in February to store the nation's spent commercial, industrial and military nuclear waste beginning in 2010.

Benson said that while operations have been scaled back since February, employees and scientists are continuing to monitor scientific studies and a five-mile tunnel bored about 1,000 feet beneath the volcanic ridge.

Nevada opposes the Yucca Mountain project, and Congress is debating whether to override Gov. Kenny Guinn's April veto of the presidential selection.

President Bush in February approved building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, saying 20 years of study had found the ridge of volcanic rock to be a safe place to store nuclear material.

Opponents of the project have cited the possibility of earthquakes as one reason to reject Yucca Mountain as the site.

The waste, expected to remain radioactive for more than 10,000 years, would be buried 1,000 feet below ground. The Energy Department has said the earliest the Yucca facility could open is 2010.

On the Net:
Yucca Mountain Project: http://www.ymp.gov
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGADVAO7G2D.html