I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7558 

To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of certain 

foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot 

Plant. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Mr. OLSON (for himself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. BACON, Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN, and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to 

dispose of certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological 

materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. 

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 ‘‘Foreign Americium 

5 Disposal and Storage Act’’ or the ‘‘FADS Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF 

7 CERTAIN FISSILE OR RADIOLOGICAL MATE8 RIALS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) While United States-origin americium-241 

2 (Am-241) sealed sources recovered by the National 

3 Nuclear Security Administration of the Department 

4 of Energy may be disposed of at the Waste Isolation 

5 Pilot Plant (WIPP), Russian-origin Am-241 sources 

6 may not be. 

7 (2) Section 2(19) of the WIPP Land With8 drawal Act of 1991 identifies WIPP as the location 

9 for the disposal of ‘‘radioactive waste materials gen10 erated by atomic energy defense activities’’. 

11 (3) The Am-241 sources of concern that may 

12 not currently be eligible for disposal at WIPP have 

13 the same isotopic properties and are often colocated 

14 with sources that are eligible for disposal at WIPP. 

15 (4) Russian-origin sealed sources, once con16 firmed to meet the WIPP Waste Acceptance Cri17 teria, should be eligible for disposal at WIPP. 

18 (5) The Carlsbad Field Office of the Depart19 ment estimates the volume to be disposed is equiva20 lent to 1 to 2 shipments a year and will have a neg21 ligible impact on WIPP operations. 

22 (6) The Department, the Nuclear Regulatory 

23 Commission (NRC), and the international commu24 nity have identified Am-241 as a radioisotope that 


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1 should be protected due to the possibility of its use 

2 in a radiological dispersal device. 

3 (7) As part of its defense nuclear nonprolifera4 tion mission, the National Nuclear Security Admin5 istration recovers thousands of disused sealed 

6 sources from domestic and international facilities. 

7 (8) Codifying a disposition pathway for these 

8 Am-241 sources will allow the National Nuclear Se9 curity Administration to accelerate their removal 

10 and reduce the availability of material that could be 

11 used in a dirty bomb. 

12 (b) CLARIFICATION.—Section 3132(c)(1) of the Ron13 ald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for 

14 Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 2569(c)(1)) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(N)(i) The collection, storage, and safe 

17 disposal of the materials described in clause (ii) 

18 as waste materials generated by atomic energy 

19 defense activities for the purpose of disposal of 

20 such materials at WIPP (as defined in section 

21 2(19) of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land 

22 Withdrawal Act (Public Law 102–579; 106 

23 Stat. 4777)). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The materials described in this clause 

2 are proliferation-attractive fissile materials or 

3 radiological materials that— 

4 ‘‘(I) contain transuranic elements of 

5 foreign-origin; and 

6 ‘‘(II) but for subclause (I), are similar 

7 to proliferation-attractive fissile materials 

8 or radiological materials covered by this 

9 section.’’. 

Æ 


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