[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1630 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1630

    To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include the 
 Territory of Guam in the list of affected areas with respect to which 
 claims relating to atmospheric nuclear testing shall be allowed, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2009

 Ms. Bordallo introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include the 
 Territory of Guam in the list of affected areas with respect to which 
 claims relating to atmospheric nuclear testing shall be allowed, 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. DEFINITION OF AFFECTED AREA TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL DOWNWIND 
              AREA EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION (NUCLEAR FALLOUT).

    Section 4(b)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 
U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) the Territory of Guam; and''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States conducted testing of atomic nuclear 
        weapons on Enewetak and Bikini Atolls in the Marshall Islands, 
        from 1946 to 1962. A total of sixty-seven (67) atomic and 
        thermonuclear bombs were detonated which resulted in fallout 
        across a wide area in the Pacific.
            (2) The Atomic Energy Commission detonated sixty-seven (67) 
        nuclear devices with a total yield of one hundred eight 
        thousand four hundred ninety-two point two (108,492.2) kilotons 
        in or around the Marshall Islands.
            (3) There were at least ten (10) detonations that had a 
        yield necessary of five (5) to ten (10) megatons to project 
        material from the center of the explosion to the height of 
        between twelve (12) to fifty-five (55) miles into the jet-
        stream.
            (4) On October 31, 1952 (GMT), the first true H-Bomb, Ivy 
        Mike was detonated at Elugelab (``Flora'') Island, Enewetak 
        Atoll. The 10.4 megaton device was the fourth largest device 
        ever tested by the United States. The mushroom cloud climbed to 
        57,000 feet in only 90 seconds entering the stratosphere. One 
        minute later it reached 108,000 feet, eventually stabilizing at 
        a ceiling of 120,000 feet. Half an hour after the test, the 
        mushroom stretched sixty (60) miles across, with the base of 
        the mushroom head joining the stem at 45,000 feet.
            (5) On April 27, 2005, the National Research Council of the 
        National Academies submitted to Congress a report on the 
        Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation 
        Exposure Screening and Education Program.
            (6) The National Research Council stated in their report on 
        ``ADDITIONAL POPULATIONS ENVIRONMENTALLY AT RISK FOR RADIATION 
        EXPOSURE'', Nuclear Testing: Downwinders and Onsite 
        Participants, that the Committee to Assess the Scientific 
        Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education 
        Program reviewed the locations where nuclear-weapons tests were 
        performed, and that ``The current RECA downwinder population is 
        concentrated in the area around the NTS, and the 1997 NCI 131 I 
        report (NCI, 1997) dealt with emissions from the NTS. In RECA, 
        Congress found that fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests 
        exposed people to radiation that is presumed to have caused an 
        excess of cancer and that this risk was borne by these people 
        to serve the national security interests of the United States. 
        The United States has conducted nuclear-weapons tests in areas 
        other than NTS, and populations exposed to fallout from these 
        tests may also be considered as possible candidates for RECA 
        compensation, if Congress so chooses. The tests in question 
        include the Trinity test near Alamogordo, New Mexico, and the 
        Pacific tests. Onsite participants in the tests are already 
        included under RECA, but RECA coverage may be extended to the 
        downwinder populations in those areas. Over the last several 
        years, there has been a concern about the health effects 
        associated with radioactive fallout that reached Guam during 
        the testing of nuclear weapons in Micronesia. The Pacific 
        Association for Radiation Survivors was formed. In 2002, a blue 
        ribbon panel, authorized by the Government of Guam, submitted 
        the Committee Action Report on Radioactive Contamination in 
        Guam between 1946 and 1958.''.
            (7) The National Research Council's assessment and 
        recommendation for Guam is stated on page 200 of the 
        ``Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation 
        Exposure Screening and Education Program'', which reads: 
        ``Conclusions. As a result of its analysis, the committee 
        concludes that Guam did receive measurable fallout from 
        atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. 
        Residents of Guam during that period should be eligible for 
        compensation under RECA in a way similar to that of persons 
        considered to be downwinders.''.
            (8) In 1974, the Laboratory of Radiation Ecology began a 
        program to determine the radionuclides found in food, plants, 
        animals, and soils of the Central Pacific. As part of this 
        program, the study was undertaken to determine the 
        radionuclides found in common foods and soils in Guam. All 
        samples were analyzed for gamma-emitting radionuclides while 
        some were also analyzed for Strontium 90 or Plutonium 239,240. 
        Cesium 137,210 PB and 235 U were also on the soil on Guam. 
        ``Plants; Most values of 137 Cs were less than 1 pCi/g, but a 
        value of 18. pCi/g was measured in the edible portion of a 
        pandanus fruit from Guam. The inedible portion of this fruit 
        also had a high 137 Cs value, 16 pCi/g.''.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY TO FILE A CLAIM BASED ON PRESENCE DURING PERIOD OF 
              TESTING.

    (a) Claims Relating to Leukemia.--Section 4(a)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
            (1) in subclauses (I) and (II), by inserting ``described in 
        subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(1)'' after 
        ``affected area'';
            (2) in subclause (II)--
                    (A) by striking ``in the'' before ``affected area'' 
                and inserting ``in an''; and
                    (B) by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (3) by redesignating subclause (III) as subclause (V); and
            (4) by inserting after subclause (II) the following:
                                    ``(III) was physically present in 
                                the affected area described in 
                                subsection (b)(1)(D) for a period of at 
                                least 1 year during the period 
                                beginning on June 30, 1946, and ending 
                                on November 30, 1974;
                                    ``(IV) was physically present in 
                                the affected area described in 
                                subsection (b)(1)(D) for the period 
                                beginning on June 30, 1946, and ending 
                                on November 30, 1974;''.
    (b) Claims Relating to Specified Diseases.--Section 4(a)(2) of the 
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraphs (A) and (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``in the'' before ``affected area'' 
                and inserting ``in an''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``described in subparagraph (A), 
                (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(1)'' after ``affected 
                area'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (E); 
        and
            (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) was physically present in the affected area 
                described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for a period of at 
                least 2 years during the period beginning on June 30, 
                1946, and ending on November 30, 1974.
                    ``(D) was physically present in the affected area 
                described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for the period 
                beginning on June 30, 1946, and ending on November 30, 
                1974.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO RECA.

    (a) Additional Relief.--Section 4 of the Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(c) Additional Relief.--
            ``(1) Other areas.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An individual who resided in the 
                Territory of Guam not covered under subsection 
                (b)(1)(D) during the time period described in 
                subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may apply for compensation 
                under this Act.
                    ``(B) Procedure.--The National Cancer Institute, in 
                collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention, shall evaluate whether an individual 
                submitting an application under subparagraph (A) is 
                eligible for compensation under this Act on a case-by-
                case basis.
            ``(2) Other expenses.--An individual who is eligible for 
        compensation under subsection (b)(1)(D) or paragraph (1) shall 
        also receive compensation from the Fund for the costs of 
        screening, complications of screening, follow-up referrals, 
        work-up diagnosis, and treatment related to the specific 
        disease contracted by the individual.''.

SEC. 5. EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    The Health Resources and Services Administration shall conduct an 
enhanced program of education and communication about the health risks 
posed by ionizing radiation exposure from fallout from the United 
States nuclear-weapons testing.
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