Washington, D.C. - Today, Governor Sisolak revealed that the Department of Energy under Secretary Rick Perry had been shipping and disposing of unapproved low-level radioactive waste at the Nevada National Security Site, violating the established NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria. Congressman Horsford released the following statement about this development:

“I am outraged and shocked to hear about the Department of Energy’s repeated transgressions on the people of Nevada. Today we found out that, against the will and consent of Nevadans, the Department of Energy has been covertly shipping dangerous radioactive waste into our state. While the DOE has long claimed it supports collaboration with the state of Nevada, today’s findings, like those of the recent past, prove otherwise.

Secretary Perry has repeatedly disrespected the people of Nevada and eroded the public trust in his ability to abide by established rules for waste disposal. His failure to disclose these actions amount to their lying to a federal judge, our Nevada Congressional delegation and our state’s Governor repeatedly about his agency’s activities in our state. Secretary Perry must resign immediately.

To add insult to injury the DOE reluctantly admitted that the waste shipped to Nevada was incorrectly labelled as low-level radioactive waste, when it was in fact mixed low-level radioactive waste. The implications could be significant for both our environment and public health. Whether it was through negligence, or outright trickery, Nevada has been unjustly coerced into storing MLL waste, in violation of various state and federal laws and regulations. DOE actions must be swiftly addressed and justified.

The DOE has violated the trust and safety of Nevadans. As Representative of District 4 of Nevada, which is home to the National Nuclear Security Site, I vow to investigate the past and current conduct of the DOE and hold them accountable for their dismissal of the law and blatant disregard for the safety of Nevadans. The people of Nevada adamantly oppose the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada. It is opposed by every member of the Nevada delegation, on both sides of the aisle, and has been opposed by the last five Governors of Nevada, Democrat and Republican.”