[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17207-17208]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                INCLUSION OF GUAM IN PUBLIC LAW 101-426

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2003

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place in the Record a 
resolution passed by the Guam Legislature which petitions the United 
States Congress to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 
1990 to include Guam in the jurisdictions covered by the Act.
  The aforementioned Act, Public Law 101-426, calls for the 
compensation to be paid to the people of areas where they may have been 
exposed to hazardous materials as a result of the detonation of nuclear 
weapons. While those areas that were most obviously affected by nuclear 
testing have been compensated, recent evidence shows that the effects 
of these nuclear tests were more widespread than originally thought. 
Most specifically, the people of my island, Guam, were affected by 
these events, and it is of paramount importance that this problem be 
addressed. As the resolution states, Guam was affected by wind borne 
radiation and by the scrubbing of radiated vessels in Guam's harbors.
  In the coming days, I will work towards the introduction of 
legislation that will extend Public Law 101-426 to include the people 
of Guam. Such legislation is a much needed action to compensate for 
allowing nuclear waste to contaminate areas in the Western Pacific. I 
look to my colleagues for their assistance and understanding in 
rectifying the impact of nuclear testing in the region.

                         Resolution No. 30 (LS)

       Whereas, the United States conducted testing of atomic 
     nuclear weapons on Enewetak and Bikini Atolls in the Marshall 
     Islands, from 1946 to 1958. A total of sixty-seven (67) 
     atomic and thermonuclear bombs were detonated which resulted 
     in fallout across a wide area of the Pacific. Continental 
     United States residents exposed to radiation resulting from 
     the nuclear weapons testing subsequently developed serious 
     diseases, including various types of cancer. On October 1990, 
     in order to establish a procedure to make partial restitution 
     to radiation exposure victims for their suffering, President 
     George H. Bush signed into law the Radiation Exposure 
     Compensation Act (RECA). RECA established the Radiation 
     Exposure Compensation Program (RECP) within the Civil 
     Division of the Department of justice to administer its 
     responsibilities under the Act. In April 1992, RECP began 
     processing claims. RECA was amended several times, most 
     recently on July 10, 2000, when President William Jefferson 
     Clinton signed into law the Radiation Exposure Compensation 
     Act Amendments of 2000. The 2000 amendments further broaden 
     the scope of eligibility for benefits coverage to include new 
     victim categories and modify the criteria for determining 
     eligibility for compensation; and
       Whereas, RECA establishes a procedure to make partial 
     restitution to individuals who contracted serious diseases, 
     such as certain types of cancers, presumably resulting from 
     their exposure to radiation from aboveground nuclear tests or 
     as a result of their employment in uranium mines. The law 
     established five (5) claimant categories--uranium miners, 
     uranium millers, ore transporters, ``downwinders'' (those who 
     were located downwind from aboveground nuclear weapons tests 
     conducted at the Nevada test sites) and onsite participants 
     (those who actually participated onsite); and
       Whereas, as enacted, the law broadens the population 
     covered by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which 
     authorizes monetary compensation to individuals who were 
     present, or nearby when nuclear weapons tests were conducted 
     at the Nevada Test Site or who worked in uranium mines, and 
     later developed certain diseases; adds more qualifying 
     occupations relating to uranium production; increases the 
     number of states covered and extends the time period 
     considered for radiation exposure; adds more diseases which 
     may qualify individuals for compensation; decreases the level 
     of radiation exposure that is necessary to qualify; makes 
     certain that the medical criteria is less stringent for 
     potential claimants; and
       Whereas, nuclear tests that the United States Government 
     conducted in the Marshall Islands from 1946 until 1968 have 
     led to increased levels of radiation in some of the islands 
     of Micronesia; and
       Whereas, such increased levels of radiation may have led to 
     serious health and other environmental problems for life in 
     such areas; and
       Whereas, Guam is approximately one thousand two-hundred 
     (1200) miles directly west of the test sites; and
       Whereas, 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; and
       Whereas, there were ten (10) detonations that had the yield 
     necessary (one (1) megaton) to project material from the 
     center of the explosion to the height of between twelve (12) 
     to fifty-five (55) miles, and into the jet-stream; and
       Whereas, the jet-stream travels generally westward from the 
     Marshall Islands carrying the radioactive material as fine as 
     dust particles; these particles collected ice crystals at 
     high altitudes and descended as cloud condensation. This 
     process is known as the scavenging effect; and
       Whereas, the material drops to land surfaces and enters the 
     food and water supply consumed by the local population; and
       Whereas, reports from the United States Navy indicated that 
     they had full knowledge and did not warn or help the local 
     population; and
       Whereas, ships present during the nuclear testing were 
     decontaminated in Guam harbors with acidic detergents and the 
     runoff from these operations went directly in the local 
     fishing and reef environments; and
       Whereas, the United States Navy performed radio ecological 
     studies on the surface water in and around the island of Guam 
     and found a major peak of radioactive contamination in 1959; 
     and
       Whereas, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for 
     the United States Department of Energy, performed radio 
     ecological testing on Guam beginning in 1968 and ending in 
     1974, to study potential radiation effects on the local 
     population; and
       Whereas, numerous other radio ecological studies were 
     performed by government agencies, the United States military, 
     and various research institutions from 1946 until 1974 to

[[Page 17208]]

     study Guam's environment and actual and potential radiation 
     effects on the local population; and
       Whereas, according to requirements set forth by the 
     Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, the island of Guam 
     should qualify as a jurisdiction and its population should be 
     recognized as victims of radiation exposure from nuclear 
     weapons testing and associated clean-up activities (see 
     Appendix I listing the declassified documents pertaining to 
     and indicating Guam's exposure to radioactive isotopes as a 
     result of the Atomic Energy Commission nuclear weapon tests 
     in the Marshall Islands); now therefore, be it
       Resolved, That I Mina'Bente Siete Na Liheslaturan Guahan 
     does hereby, on behalf of the people of Guam, petition the 
     United States Congress to amend the ``Radiation Exposure 
     Compensation Act of 1990'', Public Law 101-426, as amended by 
     Public Law 101-510, Sec. 3139 (42 U.S.C. 2210) and Public Law 
     106-245; to include Guam in the jurisdictions (downwinders/
     onsite participants) covered by the Act; and be it further
       Resolved, That the affected population previously and 
     currently on Guam (those residing who have been exposed to 
     radiation resulting from the Atomic Energy Commission tests 
     in the Marshall Islands) be recognized as being 
     ``downwinders'' of such tests; and be it further
       Resolved, That those persons involved in the actual testing 
     and clean-up activities of such atomic weapons tests be 
     recognized as ``on-site participants'' and/or ``downwinders'' 
     depending on their exposure as defined by RECA; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Speaker certify, and the Legislative 
     Secretary attests to, the adoption hereof and that copies of 
     the same be thereafter transmitted to the Honorable Senator 
     Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United 
     States Senate; to the Honorable Senator Patrick J. Leahy, 
     Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, United States 
     Senate; to the Honorable Senator Judd Gregg, Chairman, 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United 
     States Senate; to the Honorable Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 
     Ranking Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions, United States Senate; to the Honorable Senator 
     Daniel K. Akaka, United States Senate; to the Honorable 
     Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman, Committee 
     on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives; to 
     the Honorable Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, 
     Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of 
     Representatives; to the Honorable Congressman W.G. ``Billy'' 
     Tauzin, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, United 
     States House of Representatives; to the Honorable Congressman 
     John D. Dingell, Ranking Member, Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce, United States House of Representatives; to the 
     Honorable Congressman Neil Abercrombie, United States House 
     of Representatives; to Mr. William A. Harper, National 
     Commander, National Association of Atomic Veterans; to Mr. 
     Charlie Clark, Hawaii State Commander, National Association 
     of Atomic Veterans; to all the State and Area Commanders of 
     the National Association of Atomic Veterans; to Mr. Robert 
     Celestial, Guam atomic veteran; to the Honorable Angel L.G. 
     Santos, former Senator of I Mina'Bente Sais Na Liheslaturan 
     Guahan; to the Honorable George Herbert Walker Bush, former 
     President of the United States of America; to the Honorable 
     William Jefferson Clinton, former President of the United 
     States of America; to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 
     of the United States of America; to the Honorable Madeleine 
     Z. Bordallo, Member of Congress, U.S. House of 
     Representatives; and to the Honorable Felix P. Camacho, I 
     Maga'lahen Guahan.

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