LAS VEGAS (AP) — A radiation lab in Las Vegas is being moved to Alabama by the Environmental Protection Agency, as nuclear safety advocates and lawmakers express concern that this could leave the western U.S. vulnerable.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that the EPA is planning to dismantle the mobile radiation detection laboratory stationed at its offices at UNLV as early as Friday, to be shipped out next week.
The move was announced in March so that the Vegas lab could be combined with a similar unit already in Montgomery, Alabama. Officials say this will be more efficient and cut costs.
But safety advocates and lawmakers from Nevada and California have raised concerns.
The EPA said the lab hasn't been dispatched in 15 years and isn't used as a first-responder.