The federal government has put the Divine Strake test on hold again, until it can come up with a clearer way to describe any potential effects of the planned weapons test.

The large-scale, open-air explosive detonation planned at the Nevada Test Site will be delayed until further notice, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced Friday. No new date has been set, according to NNSA spokesman Darwin Morgan.

The agency withdrew its earlier finding, in an environmental assessment, that the test would have no significant impact, because of questions from the public, Morgan said. The announcement came one day after a petition signed by more than 600 people protesting the planned test was delivered to the St. George offices of Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett.

NNSA now plans to seek to better understand and explain the effects of background radiation that would be picked up with the dirt moved by the explosion, Morgan said.

The announcement Friday was good news to elected officials and activists alike.

"We have always been concerned about background radiation at the site," said Hatch, R-Utah. "We have been repeatedly told, even during my staff's visit to the site, that this was not a concern. But since we've asked them to back up their conclusions with scientific evidence, it looks like our concerns are justified."

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said the decision is in line with his request to federal officials for more research into potential environmental hazards that may pose a risk to Utahns.

"After reading comments about 'mushroom clouds' and 'low-yield nuclear weapons,' I was greatly concerned and expressed as much to the director" of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Matheson said. "I advised him to put all the health and safety data out on the table so that people's fears about being once again exposed to radioactive contamination could be addressed. I am very pleased to see that these agencies have acted on my advice."

The test was supposed to take place June 2 but then was postponed to no sooner than June 23, and now there is no new date, Morgan said.

St. George resident Helene Stone said Friday that the announcement to delay Divine Strake was "very good news."

"This delay does not address future testing of any nuclear-weapons tests, but I would hope this ends any plans for that as well," said Stone, who delivered the petition to the senators.

The 600 people who signed it were among many Dixie residents opposed to the test. Stone said more petitions are circulating. About 60 people attended a protest rally held against Divine Strake in St. George earlier this month.

"I'm glad they're starting to listen to us," said St. George resident Hughette Nordin, who has actively campaigned against Divine Strake. "We won't give up."

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