[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 402 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 402

Condemning the transport of nuclear mixed-oxide (MOX) material by ship 
 from France to Japan through international waters which endangers the 
  marine environment and increases possible risks for destruction and 
     likely attacks of such shipments by international pirates and 
                              terrorists.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2009

 Mr. Faleomavaega (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the transport of nuclear mixed-oxide (MOX) material by ship 
 from France to Japan through international waters which endangers the 
  marine environment and increases possible risks for destruction and 
     likely attacks of such shipments by international pirates and 
                              terrorists.

Whereas two ships, the Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Heron, on March 6, 2009, 
        departed France bound for Japan containing about 1.8 metric tons of 
        plutonium contained in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel;
Whereas the ships are taking a route via Cape Good Hope and the South West 
        Pacific, passing Australia, New Zealand, and several Pacific Islands;
Whereas MOX is a type of nuclear material as defined by the Convention on 
        Physical Protection of Nuclear Material of May 1980, and any 
        international shipment therefore requires safety measures in accordance 
        with this convention;
Whereas MOX is classified as Category 1 material by the International Atomic 
        Energy Agency (IAEA), and the material therefore must be transported 
        under the most stringent security measures;
Whereas this amount of MOX is estimated to be enough to produce 255 nuclear 
        weapons;
Whereas reprocessing of nuclear material into MOX is not taking place in the 
        United States for nonproliferation reasons;
Whereas European-Japanese cooperation of reprocessing nuclear material requires 
        the transport of MOX using international waters;
Whereas the transport of nuclear MOX materials by ship poses a great threat to 
        global security and the environment, the current safety measures are 
        inadequate, and the risk of nuclear proliferation is imminent;
Whereas the exposure to the human body from MOX, containing plutonium and other 
        radioactive compounds, may have grave consequences, including cancer, 
        birth defects, deformities, and damage to the immune system;
Whereas the transport is a possible target for terrorist organizations and there 
        is a significant risk of attacks from pirates and therefore diversion of 
        the material;
Whereas the en route countries have not been notified beforehand;
Whereas all rights of citizens of en route countries must be respected and the 
        environment of en route countries must be protected;
Whereas the South Pacific is declared a nuclear weapon free zone by the South 
        Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty of August 1985, signed by the United 
        States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia;
Whereas the international shipment of nuclear material requires safety measures 
        in accordance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of July 1968, a 
        treaty which has been signed by all permanent members of the United 
        Nations Security Council and 186 other countries;
Whereas the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty obligates such parties to accept 
        safeguards to detect diversions of nuclear material from peaceful 
        activities, such as power generation, to the production of nuclear 
        weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and
Whereas the Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism of April 
        2005 states that parties of the treaty shall make every effort to adopt 
        appropriate measures to ensure the protection of nuclear material, 
        taking into account relevant recommendations and functions of the 
        International Atomic Energy Agency: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the transport of nuclear mixed-oxide (MOX) 
        materials by ship in international waters;
            (2) encourages the international community to strengthen 
        procedures for the shipment of especially nuclear MOX material, 
        thus including actions to notify en route states;
            (3) encourages the International Atomic Energy Agency and 
        the United Nations to prohibit the shipment or transfer of any 
        nuclear waste material through international waters; and
            (4) requests that countries using nuclear power plants for 
        producing electricity and related community needs should store 
        and reprocess the nuclear waste within their own territorial 
        boundaries so as not to pose grave danger to the environment 
        and to other countries.
                                 <all>