I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1483

To require certain studies regarding the health effects of exposure to depleted 

uranium munitions, to require the cleanup and mitigation of depleted 

uranium contamination at sites of depleted uranium munition use and 

production in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2003

Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CONYERS, 

Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. LEE, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To require certain studies regarding the health effects of 

exposure to depleted uranium munitions, to require the 

cleanup and mitigation of depleted uranium contamination at sites of depleted uranium munition use and production in the United States, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act of 2003’’ . 
2

•HR 1483 IH 

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

Sec. 4. Study of health effects of exposure to depleted uranium. 

Sec. 5. EPA studies of environmental contamination by depleted uranium. 

Sec. 6. Environmental mitigation and cleanup requirements for depleted uranium.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The highest regard should be given to the 

6 health and safety of the members of the United 

7 States Armed Forces. 

8 (2) Depleted uranium, a toxic, carcinogenic, 

9 and radioactive material with a half-life of 

10 4,500,000,000 years, is used as an ingredient in var11 ious munitions used by the United States Armed 

12 Forces. 

13 (3) Depleted uranium munitions were used by 

14 the United States Armed Forces in 1991 during the 

15 Persian Gulf War and during the conflicts in the 

16 former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Bosnia, 

17 Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro) during the 1990s, 

18 with approximately 300 metric tons of depleted ura19 nium being used during the Persian Gulf War, ap20 proximately three metric tons being used in Bosnia, 

21 and approximately nine metric tons being used in 

22 Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro. 
3

•HR 1483 IH 

1 (4) Among the characteristics of depleted ura2 nium munitions are that—

3 (A) they are pyrophoric, resulting in the 

4 munition burning upon impact with a target; 

5 and 

6 (B) the impact of a depleted uranium mu7 nition on a target creates aerosol particles, 

8 which can be inhaled. 

9 (5) The United States has provided or sold de10 pleted uranium and depleted uranium munitions to 

11 allied nations, and the armed forces of the United 

12 Kingdom used depleted uranium munitions during 

13 the Persian Gulf War. 

14 (6) Depleted uranium munitions have been used 

15 at numerous United States military installations, 

16 proving grounds, and testing facilities. 

17 (7) No definitive cause has been established for 

18 the various illnesses (commonly referred to as Gulf 

19 War Syndrome) that affect approximately 130,000 

20 members and former members of the United States 

21 Armed Forces who served in Southwest Asia during 

22 the Persian Gulf War. 

23 (8) The Iraqi Government has claimed that de24 pleted uranium from depleted uranium munitions is 
4

•HR 1483 IH 

1 affecting the health of their people, although such 

2 claims have not been independently verified. 

3 (9) The United States Navy and the British 

4 Royal Navy are phasing out use of depleted uranium 

5 munitions, and the Canadian Navy has ceased using 

6 depleted uranium munitions. 

7 (10) It has been reported that depleted ura8 nium munitions use has proliferated to more than 

9 20 nations. 

10 (11) The 1949 Geneva Convention specifically 

11 outlines the precautions warring nations must take 

12 to avoid harming civilian populations, and it would 

13 be a violation of the 1977 Protocol to that Conven14 tion to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suf15 fering to civilians, as depleted uranium munitions 

16 may cause. 

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

18 The purposes of this Act are—

19 (1) to provide for studies of—

20 (A) the health effects resulting from expo21 sure to depleted uranium munitions by inhala22 tion, ingestion, or injection; and 

23 (B) environmental contamination caused 

24 by depleted uranium at sites where depleted 

25 uranium was used in conflict, development, test-
5

•HR 1483 IH 

1 ing, or training and at sites where depleted ura2 nium and depleted uranium munitions were 

3 produced; and 

4 (2) to require the cleanup and mitigation of de5 pleted uranium contamination at sites of depleted 

6 uranium munition use and production in the United 

7 States. 

8 SEC. 4. STUDY OF HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO DE9 PLETED URANIUM. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the Agency for Toxic 

11 Substances and Disease Registry and the Director of the 

12 Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall jointly 

13 conduct a comprehensive study of the health effects of ex14 posure to depleted uranium munitions on uranium-exposed 

15 veterans and on children of uranium-exposed veterans who 

16 were born after the exposure of the uranium-exposed vet17 erans to depleted uranium. 

18 (b) URANIUM-EXPOSED VETERANS.—In this section, 

19 the term ‘‘uranium-exposed veteran’’ means a member or 

20 former member of the United States Armed Forces who 

21 handled, came in contact with, or had the likelihood of 

22 contact with depleted uranium munitions while on active 

23 duty, including members and former members who—

24 (1) were exposed to smoke from fires resulting 

25 from the burning of vehicles containing depleted ura-
6

•HR 1483 IH 

1 nium munitions or fires at depots at which depleted 

2 uranium munitions were stored; 

3 (2) worked within environments containing de4 pleted uranium dust or residues from depleted ura5 nium munitions; 

6 (3) were within a structure or vehicle while it 

7 was struck by a depleted uranium munition; 

8 (4) climbed on or entered equipment or struc9 tures struck by a depleted uranium munition; or 

10 (5) were medical personnel who provided initial 

11 treatment to members of the Armed Forces de12 scribed in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4). 

13 (c) PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Directors 

14 also shall jointly conduct a public health assessment of 

15 persons who are thought to have an epidemiological link—

16 (1) to any United States military installation or 

17 facility at which depleted uranium munitions have 

18 been, or currently are, used; and 

19 (2) any production facility in the United States 

20 at which depleted uranium or depleted uranium mu21 nitions are currently, or have been, produced. 

22 (d) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, the Directors shall submit 

24 to Congress a report on the results of the study under 

25 subsection (a) and the assessment under subsection (c). 
7

•HR 1483 IH 

1 The Directors shall include in the report a list of diseases 

2 or conditions that are found to exist within the populations 

3 specified in subsection (a) and their rate of occurrence 

4 compared to the general population. 

5 SEC. 5. EPA STUDIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINA6 TION BY DEPLETED URANIUM. 

7 (a) LIST OF DEPLETED URANIUM SITES IN UNITED

8 STATES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall pro10 vide to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

11 Agency a list of all sites in the United States where de12 pleted uranium munitions have been used or produced and 

13 a site-specific map of each site. 

14 (b) EPA STUDIES.—After receipt of the list and 

15 maps under subsection (a), the Administrator shall con16 duct a comprehensive environmental study of each site 

17 specified on the list evaluating the possible contamination 

18 of the soil, air, water, and vegetation by depleted uranium 

19 at that site. 

20 (c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub22 mit to the Secretary of Defense and the Committee on 

23 Armed Services and the Committee on Government Re24 form of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
8

•HR 1483 IH 

1 on Armed Services and the Committee on Governmental 

2 Affairs of the Senate a report—

3 (1) describing the extent of contamination by 

4 depleted uranium at each site studied by the Admin5 istrator pursuant to subsection (b); 

6 (2) providing site-specific recommendations for 

7 the mitigation and cleanup of each such site; and 

8 (3) providing general recommendations regard9 ing the cleanup of sites where depleted uranium has 

10 been used on foreign lands. 

11 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION AND CLEANUP RE12 QUIREMENTS FOR DEPLETED URANIUM. 

13 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLEANUP PLAN.—

14 Not later than one year after receiving the report required 

15 by section 5(c), the Secretary of Defense shall develop a 

16 plan for the mitigation and cleanup of depleted uranium 

17 at those sites covered by the report. The plan shall include 

18 a prioritized schedule for the mitigation and cleanup of 

19 such sites. The Secretary shall submit a copy of the plan 

20 to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee 

21 on Government Reform of the House of Representatives 

22 and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee 

23 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

24 (b) CLEANUP.—After filing the plan under subsection 

25 (a), the Secretary of Defense shall commence, directly or 
9

•HR 1483 IH 

1 by contract, the mitigation and cleanup of depleted ura2 nium at each site covered by the report required by section 

3 5(c). The mitigation and cleanup shall be conducted in the 

4 manner and scope specified in the report. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY OF NEPA.—The cleanup and 

6 mitigation required by subsection (b) shall be carried out 

7 in a manner consistent with the National Environmental 

8 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), notwith9 standing any exemption to any of the provisions of that 

10 Act for the Department of Defense or any element thereof. 

11 (d) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The Secretary of Defense 

12 shall submit annual progress reports to the the Adminis13 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the 

14 congressional committees specified in subsection (a) until 

15 the mitigation and cleanup of depleted uranium at those 

16 sites covered by the report required by section 5(c) are 

17 complete.

Æ