[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 979 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 979

 To strengthen United States capabilities to secure sealed sources of 
                   nuclear materials from terrorists.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2005

   Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To strengthen United States capabilities to secure sealed sources of 
                   nuclear materials from terrorists.

    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 ``Safe Storage of Radiological 
Materials Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the report of the National Commission on 
        Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, more than 2 dozen 
        terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, are pursuing chemical, 
        biological, radiological, and nuclear materials;
            (2) according to the report of the National Commission on 
        Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, the United States is 
        a prime target for weapons made with chemical, biological, 
        radiological, and nuclear materials;
            (3) the Department of Energy estimates that about 10,000 
        sealed sources of greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive 
        waste (as defined in section 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal 
        Regulations) will become unwanted and will have to be disposed 
        of through the Department of Energy by 2010;
            (4) the Department of Energy--
                    (A) does not have adequate resources or storage 
                facilities to recover and store all unwanted sources of 
                greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste; and
                    (B) has not identified a permanent disposal 
                facility;
            (5) a report by the Government Accountability Office 
        entitled ``Nuclear Proliferation: DOE Action Needed to Ensure 
        Continued Recovery of Unwanted Sealed Radioactive Sources'' 
        states that ``[t]he small size and portability of the sealed 
        sources make them susceptible to misuse, improper disposal, and 
        theft. If these sealed sources fell into the hands of 
        terrorists, they could be used as simple and crude but 
        potentially dangerous radiological weapons, commonly called 
        dirty bombs.''; and
            (6) the Government Accountability Office report further 
        states that ``[c]ertain sealed sources are considered 
        particularly attractive for potential use in producing dirty 
        bombs because, among other things, they contain more 
        concentrated amounts of nuclear material known as `greater-
        than-Class-C material.'''
    (b) Responsibility for Activities to Provide Storage Facility.--The 
Secretary of Energy shall provide to Congress official notification of 
the final designation of an entity within the Department of Energy to 
have the responsibility of completing activities needed to provide a 
facility for safely disposing of all greater-than-Class C low-level 
radioactive waste.
    (c) Reports and Plans.--
            (1) Report on permanent disposal facility.--
                    (A) Plan regarding cost and schedule for completion 
                of eis and rod.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in 
                consultation with Congress, shall submit to Congress a 
                report containing an estimate of the cost and a 
                proposed schedule to complete an environmental impact 
                statement and record of decision for a permanent 
                disposal for greater-than-Class C radioactive waste.
                    (B) Analysis of alternatives.--Before the Secretary 
                of Energy makes a final decision on the disposal 
                alternative or alternatives to be implemented, the 
                Secretary of Energy shall--
                            (i) submit to Congress a report that 
                        describes all alternatives under consideration, 
                        including all information required in the 
                        comprehensive report making recommendations for 
                        ensuring the safe disposal of all greater-than-
                        Class C low-level radioactive waste that was 
                        submitted by the Secretary to Congress in 
                        February 1987; and
                            (ii) await action by Congress.
            (2) Short-term plan for recovery and storage.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 
                shall submit to Congress a plan to ensure the continued 
                recovery and storage of greater-than-Class C low-level 
                radioactive sealed sources that pose a security threat 
                until a permanent disposal facility is available.
                    (B) Contents.--The plan shall address estimated 
                cost, resource, and facility needs.
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