FADS Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7558 To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. OLSON (for himself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. BACON, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Americium 4 Disposal and Storage Act’’ or the ‘‘FADS Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF 6 CERTAIN FISSILE OR RADIOLOGICAL MATE- 7 RIALS. 8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:55 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7558.IH H7558 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7558 IH (1) While United States-origin americium-241 1 (Am-241) sealed sources recovered by the National 2 Nuclear Security Administration of the Department 3 of Energy may be disposed of at the Waste Isolation 4 Pilot Plant (WIPP), Russian-origin Am-241 sources 5 may not be. 6 (2) Section 2(19) of the WIPP Land With- 7 drawal Act of 1991 identifies WIPP as the location 8 for the disposal of ‘‘radioactive waste materials gen- 9 erated by atomic energy defense activities’’. 10 (3) The Am-241 sources of concern that may 11 not currently be eligible for disposal at WIPP have 12 the same isotopic properties and are often colocated 13 with sources that are eligible for disposal at WIPP. 14 (4) Russian-origin sealed sources, once con- 15 firmed to meet the WIPP Waste Acceptance Cri- 16 teria, should be eligible for disposal at WIPP. 17 (5) The Carlsbad Field Office of the Depart- 18 ment estimates the volume to be disposed is equiva- 19 lent to 1 to 2 shipments a year and will have a neg- 20 ligible impact on WIPP operations. 21 (6) The Department, the Nuclear Regulatory 22 Commission (NRC), and the international commu- 23 nity have identified Am-241 as a radioisotope that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:55 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7558.IH H7558 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7558 IH should be protected due to the possibility of its use 1 in a radiological dispersal device. 2 (7) As part of its defense nuclear nonprolifera- 3 tion mission, the National Nuclear Security Admin- 4 istration recovers thousands of disused sealed 5 sources from domestic and international facilities. 6 (8) Codifying a disposition pathway for these 7 Am-241 sources will allow the National Nuclear Se- 8 curity Administration to accelerate their removal 9 and reduce the availability of material that could be 10 used in a dirty bomb. 11 (b) CLARIFICATION.—Section 3132(c)(1) of the Ron- 12 ald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for 13 Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 2569(c)(1)) is amended by 14 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 15 ‘‘(N)(i) The collection, storage, and safe 16 disposal of the materials described in clause (ii) 17 as waste materials generated by atomic energy 18 defense activities for the purpose of disposal of 19 such materials at WIPP (as defined in section 20 2(19) of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land 21 Withdrawal Act (Public Law 102–579; 106 22 Stat. 4777)). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:55 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7558.IH H7558 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7558 IH ‘‘(ii) The materials described in this clause 1 are proliferation-attractive fissile materials or 2 radiological materials that— 3 ‘‘(I) contain transuranic elements of 4 foreign-origin; and 5 ‘‘(II) but for subclause (I), are similar 6 to proliferation-attractive fissile materials 7 or radiological materials covered by this 8 section.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:55 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7558.IH H7558 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS