[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1209-H1210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SAFETY FOR AMERICANS FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce legislation that I 
first introduced in the last Congress called the Safety for Americans 
From Nuclear Weapons Testing Act. Let me tell a brief story that has 
brought me to introducing this legislation.
  From 1951 to 1992, over 1,000 tests were conducted at the Nevada test 
site. At the time, the government told people in this country that the 
tests were safe. What we know now is the government lied. In fact, only 
testing took place when the winds blew the fallout in the least 
populated direction from the test site, which happened to be southern 
Utah. These findings were discovered in the 1970s when my father, who 
was Governor of Utah at the time, received more and more information 
about the high cancer rates in southern Utah. He got documents 
declassified at the Pentagon showing that the government knew there was 
risk with the testing and only did the testing when the fallout was 
blowing in the least populated direction.
  Now, history is pretty clear. We know that the government knew people 
were at risk. We know the government lied to our citizens, and we know 
that thousands of people have died of cancer from the fallout from 
nuclear weapons testing, and yet the last test was in 1992. So why are 
we talking about this today? We are talking about this because the 
Federal Government is taking steps to resume nuclear testing.
  One thing Members may hear about nuclear testing is the dangerous 
ones were above ground. Now we do tests underground. The picture next 
to me took place in 1970. It was an underground nuclear weapons test, 
the Baneberry Shot it is called. In this picture, we see debris 10,000 
feet in the air above the valley floor of the test site.
  The DOE's own data shows that underground testing does not contain 
the fallout. In fact, fallout is emitted into the atmosphere.
  This is not just a southern Utah issue or a Western issue. In fact, 
the National Cancer Institute completed a study looking at 
concentrations of iodine 131, the isotope that causes thyroid cancer, 
and looked at how this was dispersed across the country from the 
testing. And from the Nevada test site going north and east, Members 
can see it has crossed the country, and even some counties in upstate 
New York and Vermont received higher concentrations of fallout than 
some counties close to the test site. So this is indeed an issue of 
national importance and national scope.
  I have introduced legislation that I think is very responsible in 
terms of ensuring safety before any nuclear weapons testing can take 
place again. This legislation calls for a full environmental review, an 
environmental impact statement, before testing can happen so we can 
establish all of the health and safety risks and how they can be 
addressed before testing can happen. That has never been done before.
  It also calls for setting up an extensive nationwide monitoring 
system so we can detect any radiation and fallout from the testing. It 
will not just be a government-run system; we will have a second 
monitoring system run by independent third parties through our 
university system to ensure that we understand the truths about what is 
going on with nuclear testing and exposure to radiation.
  I think this is a responsible step. We cannot go down the path again 
of nuclear weapons testing. If Members do

[[Page H1210]]

not think that we face the potential for nuclear weapons testing, let 
me repeat a quote from an article in the February 15, 2005, Salt Lake 
Tribune. The article discusses Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman's 
testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Bodman said 
the administration remains convinced the ``readiness posture'' of the 
nuclear proving ground must be enhanced. He said, ``We will continue 
our efforts to maintain the ability to conduct underground nuclear 
testing and complete the transition to the 18-month readiness posture 
that is mandated by Congress.''
  Two new kinds of nuclear weapons have been discussed for development. 
If we are going to develop those nuclear weapons, I fear they are going 
to be tested. The Department of Energy has projected over half a bill 
dollars of expenditure over the next 5 years for testing of this new 
type of nuclear weapon.
  If we are going to go down that path, which I do not think we ought 
to go down for a number of reasons, we surely ought to ensure safety if 
any nuclear weapons are going to be tested. That is why this 
legislation I have introduced is a responsible approach. Everyone in 
America ought to want to make sure that we ensure safety, and do not 
blanket this country with cancer-causing fallout, as happened once 
before.

                              {time}  1730

  I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in support of this 
legislation.
  I would just like to close by mentioning I have supporters of this 
bill that include the National Association of Atomic Veterans, 
Physicians for Social Responsibility, the National Association of 
Radiation Survivors, the Intermountain Pediatric Society, the Utah 
Medical Association and the Utah State legislature. I encourage my 
colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this bill. I hope we bring it to 
speedy action on the floor.

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