Nevada's U.S. Senators want closer scrutiny of hazardous materials shipping after a damaged nuclear waste container was found on a truck bound for the Nevada Test Site.

Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign held a press conference last week, where they showed the route taken by the truck on its way from New York to Nevada. The senators called for this incident, combined with the recent hazmat train accident in Baltimore, to serve as a wake-up call to the nation about the dangers of transporting dangerous materials.
"A cracked container carrying radioactive waste was transported through large cities in the East, small communities in America's heartland, and over the Rocky Mountains in the West," Reid said. "Millions of people live along the route taken by this truck…. Accidents happen, and it's time we understand the very real and immediate danger of transporting radioactive waste."
Ensign echoed Reid's remarks about Americans having "the right to know" when nuclear waste is being transported nearby. "I want to make sure that when an accident happens … the first responders to the scene … are equipped to effectively handle the situation," he said.
Two weeks ago, a truck was transporting seven containers holding low-level nuclear waste from the U.S. Department of Energy's West Valley, N.Y., reprocessing plant to the Nevada Test Site when the driver of the truck discovered white foam on the truck bed and called authorities. The foam was packing material from the thick-walled metal box, which foams when it gets wet.
After inspectors found an inch-long crack in one of the containers, the DOE suspended shipments from the New York site for two weeks to conduct a review. DOE reports that a preliminary test showed no radiation was detected around the truck.
The two senators head a Nevada congressional delegation fighting a proposal to transport high-level commercial and military nuclear waste to the Nevada Test Site, where it would be buried in Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn called the incident a "near catastrophe" and said it illustrated the problems with transporting nuclear waste.