[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 891 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 891

  To establish a task force to evaluate and make recommendations with 
respect to the security of sealed sources of radioactive materials, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2003

   Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Israel, and Ms. Lee) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a task force to evaluate and make recommendations with 
respect to the security of sealed sources of radioactive materials, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dirty Bomb Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. RADIATION SOURCE PROTECTION.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:
    ``Sec. 170C. Radiation Source Protection.--
    ``a. Task Force on Sealed Source Protection.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is hereby established a task 
        force on sealed source protection.
            ``(2) Membership.--The task force shall be headed by the 
        Chairman of the Commission or his designee. Its members shall 
        be the following:
                    ``(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security or his 
                designee.
                    ``(B) The Secretary of Defense or his designee.
                    ``(C) The Secretary of Energy or his designee.
                    ``(D) The Secretary of Transportation or his 
                designee.
                    ``(E) The Attorney General or his designee.
                    ``(F) The Secretary of State or his designee.
                    ``(G) The Director of the Central Intelligence 
                Agency or his designee.
                    ``(H) The Director of the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency or his designee.
                    ``(I) The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation or his designee.
            ``(3) Duties.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The task force, in consultation 
                with other State, Federal, and local agencies and 
                members of the public, as appropriate, shall evaluate 
                and provide recommendations to ensure the security of 
                sealed sources from potential terrorist threats, 
                including acts of sabotage, theft, or use of such 
                sources in a radiological dispersal device.
                    ``(B) Recommendations to congress and the 
                president.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
                the enactment of this section, and not less than once 
                every 3 years thereafter, the task force shall submit a 
                report to Congress and to the President, in 
                unclassified form with a classified annex if necessary, 
                providing recommendations, including recommendations 
                for appropriate regulatory and legislative changes, 
                for--
                            ``(i) the establishment of or modifications 
                        to a classification system for sealed sources 
                        based on their potential attractiveness to 
                        terrorists and the extent of the threat to 
                        public health and safety, taking into account 
                        sealed source radioactivity levels, 
                        dispersability, chemical and material form, for 
                        radiopharmaceuticals, the availability of these 
                        substances to physicians and patients whose 
                        medical treatment relies on them, and other 
                        factors as appropriate;
                            ``(ii) the establishment of or 
                        modifications to a national system for recovery 
                        of sealed sources that have been lost or 
                        stolen, taking into account the classification 
                        system established under clause (i);
                            ``(iii) the storage of sealed sources not 
                        currently in use in a safe and secure manner;
                            ``(iv) the establishment of or modification 
                        to a national tracking system for sealed 
                        sources, taking into account the classification 
                        system established under clause (i);
                            ``(v) the establishment of or modifications 
                        to a national system to impose fees to be 
                        collected from users of sealed sources, to be 
                        refunded when the sealed sources are returned 
                        or properly disposed of, or any other method to 
                        ensure the return or proper disposal of sealed 
                        sources;
                            ``(vi) any modifications to export controls 
                        on sealed sources necessary to ensure that 
                        foreign recipients of sealed sources are able 
                        and willing to control United States-origin 
                        sealed sources in the same manner as United 
                        States recipients;
                            ``(vii) whether alternative technologies 
                        are available that can perform some or all of 
                        the functions currently performed by devices 
                        that employ sealed sources, and if so, the 
                        establishment of appropriate regulations and 
                        incentives for the replacement of such devices 
                        with alternative technologies in order to 
                        reduce the number of sealed sources in the 
                        United States; and
                            ``(viii) the creation of or modifications 
                        to procedures for improving the security of 
                        sealed sources in use, transportation, and 
                        storage, which may include periodic Commission 
                        audits or inspections to ensure that sealed 
                        sources are properly secured and can be fully 
                        accounted for, Commission evaluation of 
                        security measures, increased fines for 
                        violations of Commission regulations relating 
                        to security and safety measures applicable to 
                        licensees who possess sealed sources, 
                        background checks for certain individuals with 
                        access to sealed sources, assurances of the 
                        physical security of facilities that contain 
                        sealed sources, and the screening of shipments 
                        to facilities particularly at risk for sabotage 
                        of sealed sources to ensure that they do not 
                        contain explosives.
    ``b. Commission Actions.--Not later than 60 days after receipt by 
Congress and the President of the report required under subsection 
a.(3)(B), the Commission, in accordance with the recommendations of the 
task force, shall take any appropriate actions, including commencing 
revision of its system for licensing sealed sources, and shall take 
necessary steps to ensure that States that have entered into an 
agreement under section 274 b. establish compatible programs in a 
timely manner.
    ``c. National Academy of Sciences Study.--Not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Commission shall 
enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences for a 
study of industrial, research, and commercial uses for sealed sources. 
The study shall review the current uses for sealed sources, identifying 
industrial or other processes that utilize sealed sources that could be 
replaced with economically and technically equivalent (or improved) 
processes that do not require the use of radioactive materials. The 
Commission shall transmit the results of the study to Congress within 
24 months after the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``d. Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `sealed 
source' means any byproduct material or special nuclear material 
encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or escape of the 
material, except that such term does not include fuel or spent fuel.''.
    (b) Table of Sections Amendment.--The table of sections of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by adding at the end of the items 
relating to chapter 14 the following new items:

``Sec. 170B. Uranium supply.
``Sec. 170C. Radiation source protection.''.
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