I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2689 

To increase the security of radiation sources, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To increase the security of radiation sources, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dirty Bomb Prevention 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RADIATION SOURCE PROTECTION. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy 

8 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 170C. RADIATION SOURCE

11 PROTECTION. — 
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1 ‘‘a. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AP2 PROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact3 ment of this section, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

4 shall issue regulations prohibiting a person from— 

5 ‘‘(1) exporting a radiation source unless the 

6 Nuclear Regulatory Commission has specifically 

7 found, with respect to that export, that— 

8 ‘‘(A) the appropriate regulatory agency in 

9 the recipient country— 

10 ‘‘(i) has been informed of the pro11 posed export; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) has determined that the proposed 

13 export will be made in accordance with the 

14 recipient nation’s laws and regulations; 

15 ‘‘(B) the recipient nation has the appro16 priate technical and administrative capability, 

17 resources, and regulatory structure to ensure 

18 that the radiation source will be managed in a 

19 safe and secure manner; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the person exporting the radiation 

21 source has made arrangements to retake pos22 session of it when the recipient is no longer 

23 using it; 
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1 ‘‘(2) importing a radiation source unless the 

2 Nuclear Regulatory Commission has specifically 

3 found, with respect to that import, that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the proposed recipient is authorized 

5 under law to receive the shipment; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the shipment will be made in accord7 ance with all applicable Federal and State laws 

8 and regulations; and 

9 ‘‘(3) selling or otherwise transferring ownership 

10 of a radiation source unless the Nuclear Regulatory 

11 Commission has specifically found, with respect to 

12 that sale or transfer, that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the proposed recipient is authorized 

14 under law to receive the radiation source; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the transfer will be made in accord16 ance with all applicable Federal and State laws 

17 and regulations. 

18 ‘‘b. TRACKING SYSTEM.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this section, the Nuclear 

20 Regulatory Commission shall issue regulations estab21 lishing a mandatory tracking system for all radiation 

22 sources in the United States. Such system shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) enable the identification of each radiation 

24 source by serial number or other unique identifier; 
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1 ‘‘(2) require reporting within 24 hours of any 

2 change of geographic location or ownership of a ra3 diation source, including any change of geographic 

4 location that occurs while the radiation source is 

5 being transported; 

6 ‘‘(3) require reporting within 24 hours of any 

7 loss of control of or accountability for a radiation 

8 source; and 

9 ‘‘(4) provide for reporting through a secure 

10 Internet connection. 

11 ‘‘c. PENALTY.—Each violation of regulations issued 

12 under subsection a. or b. shall be punishable by a civil 

13 penalty of up to $1,000,000. 

14 ‘‘d. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY.—Not 

15 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this sec16 tion, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall enter into 

17 an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 

18 for a study of industrial, research, and commercial uses 

19 for radiation sources. The study shall review the current 

20 uses for radiation sources, identifying industrial or other 

21 processes that utilize radiation sources that could be re22 placed with economically and technically equivalent (or im23 proved) processes that do not require the use of radiation 

24 sources, or that can be used with radiation sources that 

25 would pose a lesser risk to public health and safety in the 
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1 event of an accident or attack involving the radiation 

2 source. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall trans3 mit the results of the study to Congress not later than 

4 24 months after the date of enactment of this section. 

5 ‘‘e. COMMISSION ACTIONS.—Not later than 60 days 

6 after receipt by Congress and the President of a report 

7 required under subsection f.(3)(B), the Nuclear Regu8 latory Commission, in accordance with the recommenda9 tions of the task force, shall take any appropriate actions, 

10 including commencing revision of its system for licensing 

11 radiation sources, and shall take necessary steps to ensure 

12 that States that have entered into an agreement under 

13 section 274 b. establish compatible programs in a timely 

14 manner. 

15 ‘‘f. TASK FORCE ON RADIATION SOURCE PROTEC16 TION AND SECURITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab18 lished a task force on radiation source protection 

19 and security. 

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall be 

21 headed by the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 

22 Commission or the Chairman’s designee. Its mem23 bers shall be the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 or the Secretary’s designee. 
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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Defense or the Sec2 retary’s designee. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary of Energy or the Sec4 retary’s designee. 

5 ‘‘(D) The Secretary of Transportation or 

6 the Secretary’s designee. 

7 ‘‘(E) The Attorney General or the Attor8 ney General’s designee. 

9 ‘‘(F) The Secretary of State or the Sec10 retary’s designee. 

11 ‘‘(G) The Director of National Intelligence 

12 or the Director’s designee. 

13 ‘‘(H) The Director of the Central Intel14 ligence Agency or the Director’s designee. 

15 ‘‘(I) The Director of the Federal Emer16 gency Management Agency or the Director’s 

17 designee. 

18 ‘‘(J) The Director of the Federal Bureau 

19 of Investigation or the Director’s designee. 

20 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The task force, in 

22 consultation with other State, Federal, and 

23 local agencies and appropriate members of the 

24 public, after public notice and an opportunity 

25 for public comment, shall evaluate and provide 
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1 recommendations to ensure the security of radi2 ation sources from potential terrorist threats, 

3 including acts of sabotage, theft, or use of such 

4 radiation sources in a radiological dispersal de5 vice. 

6 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONGRESS

7 AND THE PRESIDENT.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this section, and 

9 not less than once every 3 years thereafter, the 

10 task force shall submit a report to Congress 

11 and to the President, in unclassified form with 

12 a classified annex if necessary, providing rec13 ommendations, including recommendations for 

14 appropriate regulatory and legislative changes, 

15 for— 

16 ‘‘(i) a list of additional radiation 

17 sources that should be required to be se18 cured under this Act, based on their poten19 tial attractiveness to terrorists and the ex20 tent of the threat to public health and 

21 safety, taking into account radiation source 

22 radioactivity levels, dispersability, chemical 

23 and material form, and, for radiopharma24 ceuticals, the availability of these sub25 stances to physicians and patients whose 
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1 medical treatments relies on them, and 

2 other factors as appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of or modifica4 tions to a national system for recovery of 

5 radiation sources that have been lost or 

6 stolen; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the storage of radiation sources 

8 not currently in use in a safe and secure 

9 manner; 

10 ‘‘(iv) modification to the national 

11 tracking system for radiation sources; 

12 ‘‘(v) the establishment of or modifica13 tions to a national system to impose fees 

14 to be collected from users of radiation 

15 sources, to be refunded when the radiation 

16 sources are properly disposed of, or any 

17 other method to ensure the proper disposal 

18 of radiation sources; 

19 ‘‘(vi) any modifications to export con20 trols on radiation sources necessary to en21 sure that foreign recipients of radiation 

22 sources are able and willing to control 

23 United States-origin radiation sources in 

24 the same manner as United States recipi25 ents; 
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1 ‘‘(vii) whether alternative technologies 

2 are available that can perform some or all 

3 of the functions currently performed by de4 vices or processes that employ radiation 

5 sources, and if so, the establishment of ap6 propriate regulations and incentives for the 

7 replacement of such devices or processes 

8 with alternative technologies in order to re9 duce the number of radiation sources in 

10 the United States, or with radiation 

11 sources that would pose a lesser risk to 

12 public health and safety in the event of an 

13 accident or attack involving the radiation 

14 source; and 

15 ‘‘(viii) the creation of or modifications 

16 to procedures for improving the security of 

17 radiation sources in use, transportation, 

18 and storage, which may include periodic 

19 Nuclear Regulatory Commission audits or 

20 inspections to ensure that radiation 

21 sources are properly secured and can be 

22 fully accounted for, Nuclear Regulatory 

23 Commission evaluation of security meas24 ures, increased fines for violations of Nu25 clear Regulatory Commission regulations 
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1 relating to security and safety measures 

2 applicable to licensees who possess radi3 ation sources, criminal and security back4 ground checks for certain individuals with 

5 access to radiation sources (including indi6 viduals involved with transporting radi7 ation sources), assurances of the physical 

8 security of facilities that contain radiation 

9 sources (including facilities used to tempo10 rarily store radiation sources being trans11 ported), requirements and a mechanism for 

12 effective and timely exchanges of informa13 tion regarding the results of such criminal 

14 and security background checks between 

15 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and 

16 States with which the Commission has en17 tered into an agreement under section 274 

18 b., and the screening of shipments to facili19 ties particularly at risk for sabotage of ra20 diation sources to ensure that they do not 

21 contain explosives. 

22 ‘‘g. DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

23 term ‘radiation source’ means any sealed or unsealed 

24 source whose activity levels are within Category 1, Cat25 egory 2, or Category 3 as defined under the Code of Con-
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1 duct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, 

2 approved by the Board of Governors of the International 

3 Atomic Energy Agency on September 8, 2003.’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

5 sections of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended 

6 by adding at the end of the items relating to chapter 14 

7 the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 170B. Uranium supply. 

‘‘Sec. 170C. Radiation source protection.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF ACCELERATOR-PRODUCED AND 

9 OTHER RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL AS BY10 PRODUCT MATERIAL. 

11 (a) DEFINITION OF BYPRODUCT MATERIAL.—Sec12 tion 11 e. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

13 2014(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘means (1) any radioactive’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘means— 

16 ‘‘(1) any radioactive’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘material, and (2) the tailings’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘material; 

19 ‘‘(2) the tailings’’; and 

20 (3) by striking ‘‘content.’’ and inserting ‘‘con21 tent; 

22 ‘‘(3)(A) any discrete source of radium that is 

23 produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, 

24 before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 
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1 paragraph for use in commercial, medical, or re2 search activity; or 

3 ‘‘(B) any material that— 

4 ‘‘(i) has been made radioactive by use of a 

5 particle accelerator; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is produced, extracted, or converted 

7 after extraction, before, on, or after the date of 

8 enactment of this paragraph for use in commer9 cial, medical, or research activity; and 

10 ‘‘(4) any discrete source of naturally occurring 

11 radioactive material, other than source material, 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(A) has been removed from the natural 

14 environment and has been concentrated to lev15 els greater than that found in the natural envi16 ronment due to human activities; and 

17 ‘‘(B) before, on, or after the date of enact18 ment of this paragraph, is extracted or con19 verted after extraction for use in commercial, 

20 medical, or research activity.’’. 

21 (b) AGREEMENTS.—Section 274 b. of the Atomic En22 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol24 lows: 
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1 ‘‘(1) byproduct materials (as defined in section 

2 11 e.);’’; 

3 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 

4 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

5 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

6 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regu9 latory Commission, after consultation with States 

10 and other stakeholders, shall promulgate final regu11 lations as the Commission considers necessary to im12 plement this Act and the amendments made by this 

13 Act. Such regulations shall include a definition of 

14 the term ‘‘discrete’’ for purposes of paragraphs (3) 

15 and (4) of section 11 e. of the Atomic Energy Act 

16 of 1954 (as added by subsection (a)) that is de17 signed to ensure that byproduct material is con18 trolled in a manner consistent with other materials 

19 that pose the same threat to public health and safety 

20 and the common defense and security. 

21 (2) COOPERATION.—The Commission shall co22 operate with the States in formulating the regula23 tions under paragraph (1), and to the extent prac24 ticable shall use existing State consensus standards. 
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1 (3) TRANSITION.—To ensure an orderly transi2 tion of regulatory authority with respect to byprod3 uct material as defined in paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

4 section 11 e. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as 

5 added by subsection (a)), the regulations promul6 gated under paragraph (1) shall include a transition 

7 plan, developed in coordination with States, for— 

8 (A) States that have not, before such plan 

9 is issued, entered into an agreement with the 

10 Commission under section 274 b. of the Atomic 

11 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021(b)); and 

12 (B) States that have entered into such an 

13 agreement with the Commission, including, in 

14 the case of a State that has entered into such 

15 an agreement and has certified that it has an 

16 existing State program for licensing of the by17 product material defined in paragraphs (3) and 

18 (4) of section 11 e. of the Atomic Energy Act 

19 of 1954 (as added by subsection (a)) that is 

20 adequate to protect public health and safety, 

21 provision for assumption by the State of regu22 latory responsibility for such byproduct material 

23 through an administrative process that— 

24 (i) provides interim provisional rec25 ognition of an existing State program for 
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1 licensing the byproduct material until 

2 adoption of an amended agreement under 

3 section 274 b.; and 

4 (ii) requires that the byproduct mate5 rial is included in the periodic reviews of 

6 the State programs for adequacy and com7 patibility required under section 274 j.(1). 

8 (4) AVAILABILITY OF RADIOPHARMA9 CEUTICALS.—In its promulgation of final rules 

10 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall consider 

11 the impact on the availability of radiopharma12 ceuticals to the physicians and patients whose med13 ical treatment relies on them. 

14 (d) WASTE DISPOSAL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 81 of the Atomic 

16 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2111) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Byproduct ma18 terial may only be transferred to and disposed of in 

19 a disposal facility licensed by the Commission, if the 

20 disposal facility meets the licensing requirements of 

21 the Commission and is adequate to protect public 

22 health and safety, or a disposal facility licensed by 

23 a State that has entered into an agreement with the 

24 Commission under section 274 b., if the disposal fa25 cility meets requirements of the State that are com-
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1 patible with the licensing requirements of the Com2 mission and is adequate to protect public health and 

3 safety.’’. 

4 (2) BYPRODUCT MATERIAL NOT CONSIDERED

5 LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—Section 2(9) of 

6 the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 2021b(9)) is amended by adding after sub8 paragraph (B) the following: 

9 ‘‘Such term shall not include byproduct material as 

10 defined in paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 11 e. 

11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.’’. 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a), (b), and (d) 

13 shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 SEC. 4. RADIATION SOURCES CONTROLLED BY DEPART16 MENT OF ENERGY. 

17 (a) NUCLEAR FUEL.— 

18 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

20 Energy shall transmit to Congress a report account21 ing for the location and status of all nuclear fuel 

22 that has been exported by the Federal Government. 

23 (2) REACQUISITION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of En25 ergy shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
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1 reacquire nuclear fuel described in paragraph 

2 (1) for disposal, giving highest priority to nu3 clear fuel that is— 

4 (i) in a location that is not secure; or 

5 (ii) in a country that does not have 

6 sufficient resources to either properly dis7 pose of the nuclear fuel or return the nu8 clear fuel to the United States for disposal. 

9 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro11 priated to the Secretary of Energy $50,000,000 

12 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010 

13 for carrying out subparagraph (A). 

14 (b) RADIATION SOURCES AND SEALED SOURCES OF

15 PLUTONIUM.— 

16 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Energy shall transmit to Congress a report account19 ing for the location and status of all radiation 

20 sources (as defined in section 170C(g) of the Atomic 

21 Energy Act of 1954, as added by section 1 of this 

22 Act) and sealed sources of plutonium weighing more 

23 than 1 gram that have been exported by the Federal 

24 Government. 

25 (2) REACQUISITION.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of En2 ergy shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

3 reacquire radiation sources and sealed sources 

4 of plutonium described in paragraph (1) for dis5 posal that are— 

6 (i) in a location that is not secure; or 

7 (ii) in a country that does not have 

8 sufficient resources to either properly dis9 pose of the radiation sources and sealed 

10 sources of plutonium or return the radi11 ation sources and sealed sources of pluto12 nium to the United States for disposal. 

13 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA14 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Secretary of Energy $30,000,000 

16 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010 

17 for carrying out subparagraph (A). 

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