I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 99 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2011 

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the 

Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Budget 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 

AN ACT 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in the United 

States for medical isotope production, and to condition 

and phase out the export of highly enriched uranium 

for the production of medical isotopes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Medical Iso3 topes Production Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

7 means the Department of Energy. 

8 (2) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

9 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

10 to 20 percent or greater in the isotope U–235. 

11 (3) LOW ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term ‘‘low 

12 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

13 than 20 percent in the isotope U–235. 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Energy. 

16 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF DOMESTIC MED17 ICAL ISOTOPE SUPPLY. 

18 (a) MEDICAL ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

20 out a technology-neutral program— 

21 (A) to evaluate and support projects for 

22 the production in the United States, without 

23 the use of highly enriched uranium, of signifi24 cant quantities of molybdenum-99 for medical 

25 uses; 


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1 (B) to be carried out in cooperation with 

2 non-Federal entities; and 

3 (C) the costs of which shall be shared in 

4 accordance with section 988 of the Energy Pol5 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

6 (2) CRITERIA.—Projects shall be judged against 

7 the following primary criteria: 

8 (A) The length of time necessary for the 

9 proposed project to begin production of molyb10 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

11 States. 

12 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

13 to produce a significant percentage of United 

14 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

15 uses. 

16 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

17 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor in the 

18 United States fueled with highly enriched uranium 

19 shall not be disqualified from the program if the 

20 Secretary determines that— 

21 (A) there is no alternative nuclear reactor 

22 fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to less than 

23 20 percent, that can be used in that reactor; 

24 (B) the reactor operator has provided as25 surances that, whenever an alternative nuclear 


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1 reactor fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to 

2 less than 20 percent, can be used in that reac3 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

4 enriched uranium; and 

5 (C) the reactor operator has provided a 

6 current report on the status of its efforts to 

7 convert the reactor to an alternative nuclear re8 actor fuel enriched in the isotope U–235 to less 

9 than 20 percent, and an anticipated schedule 

10 for completion of conversion. 

11 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND REVIEW.—The 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 (A) develop a program plan and annually 

14 update the program plan through public work15 shops; and 

16 (B) use the Nuclear Science Advisory 

17 Committee to conduct annual reviews of the 

18 progress made in achieving the program goals. 

19 (b) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

20 shall carry out a program to provide assistance for— 

21 (1) the development of fuels, targets, and proc22 esses for domestic molybdenum-99 production that 

23 do not use highly enriched uranium; and 

24 (2) commercial operations using the fuels, tar25 gets, and processes described in paragraph (1). 


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1 (c) URANIUM LEASE AND TAKE-BACK.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

3 a program to make low-enriched uranium available, 

4 through lease contracts, for irradiation for the pro5 duction of molybdenum-99 for medical uses. 

6 (2) TITLE.—The lease contracts shall provide 

7 for the producers of the molybdenum-99 to take title 

8 to and be responsible for the molybdenum-99 created 

9 by the irradiation, processing, or purification of ura10 nium leased under this section. 

11 (3) DUTIES.— 

12 (A) SECRETARY.—The lease contracts 

13 shall require the Secretary— 

14 (i) to retain responsibility for the final 

15 disposition of spent nuclear fuel created by 

16 the irradiation, processing, or purification 

17 of uranium leased under this section for 

18 the production of medical isotopes; and 

19 (ii) to take title to and be responsible 

20 for the final disposition of radioactive 

21 waste created by the irradiation, proc22 essing, or purification of uranium leased 

23 under this section for which the Secretary 

24 determines the producer does not have ac25 cess to a disposal path. 


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1 (B) PRODUCER.—The producer of the 

2 spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste shall 

3 accurately characterize, appropriately package, 

4 and transport the spent nuclear fuel and radio5 active waste prior to acceptance by the Depart6 ment. 

7 (4) COMPENSATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the lease contracts shall provide for 

10 compensation in cash amounts equivalent to 

11 prevailing market rates for the sale of com12 parable uranium products and for compensation 

13 in cash amounts equivalent to the net present 

14 value of the cost to the Federal Government 

15 for— 

16 (i) the final disposition of spent nu17 clear fuel and radioactive waste for which 

18 the Department is responsible under para19 graph (3); and 

20 (ii) other costs associated with car21 rying out the uranium lease and take-back 

22 program authorized by this subsection. 

23 (B) DISCOUNT RATE.—The discount rate 

24 used to determine the net present value of costs 

25 described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be not 


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1 greater than the average interest rate on mar2 ketable Treasury securities. 

3 (5) AUTHORIZED USE OF FUNDS.—The Sec4 retary may obligate and expend funds received under 

5 leases entered into under this subsection, which shall 

6 remain available until expended, for the purpose of 

7 carrying out the activities authorized by this Act, in8 cluding activities related to the final disposition of 

9 spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste for which 

10 the Department is responsible under paragraph (3). 

11 (6) EXCHANGE OF URANIUM FOR SERVICES.— 

12 The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell or 

13 transfer uranium in any form in exchange for— 

14 (A) services related to the final disposition 

15 of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste 

16 for which the Department is responsible under 

17 paragraph (3); or 

18 (B) any other services associated with car19 rying out the uranium lease and take-back pro20 gram authorized by this subsection. 

21 (d) COORDINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RE22 VIEWS.—The Department and the Nuclear Regulatory 

23 Commission shall ensure to the maximum extent prac24 ticable that environmental reviews for the production of 


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1 the medical isotopes shall complement and not duplicate 

2 each review. 

3 (e) OPERATIONAL DATE.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a program as described in subsection (c)(3) not later 

5 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (f) RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—Notwithstanding section 

7 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

8 10101), radioactive material resulting from the production 

9 of medical isotopes that has been permanently removed 

10 from a reactor or subcritical assembly and for which there 

11 is no further use shall be considered low-level radioactive 

12 waste if the material is acceptable under Federal require13 ments for disposal as low-level radioactive waste. 

14 SEC. 4. EXPORTS. 

15 Section 134 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 

16 U.S.C. 2160d) is amended by striking subsection c. and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘c. Effective 7 years after the date of enactment of 

19 the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011, 

20 the Commission may not issue a license for the export of 

21 highly enriched uranium from the United States for the 

22 purposes of medical isotope production. 

23 ‘‘d. The period referred to in subsection b. may be 

24 extended for no more than 6 years if, no earlier than 6 

25 years after the date of enactment of the American Medical 


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1 Isotopes Production Act of 2011, the Secretary of Energy 

2 certifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

3 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En4 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate that— 

5 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb6 denum-99 produced without the use of highly en7 riched uranium available to satisfy the domestic 

8 United States market; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the export of United States-origin highly 

10 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical iso11 tope production is the most effective temporary 

12 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to 

13 the domestic United States market. 

14 ‘‘e. To ensure public review and comment, the devel15 opment of the certification described in subsection c. shall 

16 be carried out through announcement in the Federal Reg17 ister. 

18 ‘‘f. At any time after the restriction of export licenses 

19 provided for in subsection b. becomes effective, if there 

20 is a critical shortage in the supply of molybdenum-99 

21 available to satisfy the domestic United States medical iso22 tope needs, the restriction of export licenses may be sus23 pended for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Energy certifies to the 

25 Congress that the export of United States-origin 


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1 highly enriched uranium for the purposes of medical 

2 isotope production is the only effective temporary 

3 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 nec4 essary to meet United States medical isotope needs 

5 during that period; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the Congress enacts a Joint Resolution ap7 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction 

8 of export licenses. 

9 ‘‘g. As used in this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative nuclear reactor fuel 

11 or target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target 

12 which is enriched to less than 20 percent in the iso13 tope U–235; 

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

15 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso16 tope U–235; 

17 ‘‘(3) a fuel or target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear 

18 research or test reactor if— 

19 ‘‘(A) the fuel or target has been qualified 

20 by the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test 

21 Reactor Program of the Department of Energy; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) use of the fuel or target will permit 

24 the large majority of ongoing and planned ex25 periments and medical isotope production to be 


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1 conducted in the reactor without a large per2 centage increase in the total cost of operating 

3 the reactor; and 

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb5 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio6 active materials used to produce a radiopharma7 ceutical for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or 

8 for research and development.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com12 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, 

13 shall submit to the Congress a report detailing the current 

14 disposition of previous United States exports of highly en15 riched uranium used as fuel or targets in a nuclear re16 search or test reactor, including— 

17 (1) their location; 

18 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

19 (3) whether they have been used for the pur20 pose stated in their export license; 

21 (4) whether they have been used for an alter22 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

23 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis24 sion; 


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1 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap2 plicable; 

3 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

4 and 

5 (7) whether they are being stored in a manner 

6 which adequately protects against theft and unau7 thorized access. 

8 SEC. 6. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of the Atomic Energy 

10 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC13 TION.— 

14 ‘‘a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant an 

15 amendment to an existing license, for the use in the 

16 United States of highly enriched uranium as a target for 

17 medical isotope production in a nuclear reactor, only if, 

18 in addition to any other requirement of this Act— 

19 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 

20 ‘‘(A) there is no alternative medical isotope 

21 production target, enriched in the isotope U– 

22 235 to less than 20 percent, that can be used 

23 in that reactor; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the proposed recipient of the medical 

25 isotope production target has provided assurVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:10 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S99.RFH S99

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1 ances that, whenever an alternative medical iso2 tope production target can be used in that reac3 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

4 enriched uranium; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Energy has certified that 

6 the United States Government is actively supporting 

7 the development of an alternative medical isotope 

8 production target that can be used in that reactor. 

9 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro11 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

12 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U– 

13 235; 

14 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear re15 search or test reactor if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the target has been qualified by the 

17 Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reac18 tor Program of the Department of Energy; and 

19 ‘‘(B) use of the target will permit the large 

20 majority of ongoing and planned experiments 

21 and medical isotope production to be conducted 

22 in the reactor without a large percentage in23 crease in the total cost of operating the reactor; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

2 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso3 tope U–235; and 

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb5 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio6 active materials used to produce a radiopharma7 ceutical for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or 

8 for research and development.’’. 

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

10 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting 

11 the following new item at the end of the items relating 

12 to chapter 10 of title I: 

‘‘Sec. 112. Domestic medical isotope production.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

16 5 years, the Secretary shall report to Congress on Depart17 ment actions to support the production in the United 

18 States, without the use of highly enriched uranium, of mo19 lybdenum-99 for medical uses. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The reports shall include the fol21 lowing: 

22 (1) For medical isotope development projects— 

23 (A) the names of any recipients of Depart24 ment support under section 3; 


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1 (B) the amount of Department funding 

2 committed to each project; 

3 (C) the milestones expected to be reached 

4 for each project during the year for which sup5 port is provided; 

6 (D) how each project is expected to sup7 port the increased production of molybdenum8 99 for medical uses; 

9 (E) the findings of the evaluation of 

10 projects under section 3(a)(2); and 

11 (F) the ultimate use of any Department 

12 funds used to support projects under section 3. 

13 (2) A description of actions taken in the pre14 vious year by the Secretary to ensure the safe dis15 position of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste 

16 for which the Department is responsible under sec17 tion 3(c). 

18 SEC. 8. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

20 arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to 

21 conduct a study of the state of molybdenum-99 production 

22 and utilization, to be provided to Congress not later than 

23 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) For molybdenum-99 production— 

2 (A) a list of all facilities in the world pro3 ducing molybdenum-99 for medical uses, includ4 ing an indication of whether these facilities use 

5 highly enriched uranium in any way; 

6 (B) a review of international production of 

7 molybdenum-99 over the previous 5 years, in8 cluding— 

9 (i) whether any new production was 

10 brought online; 

11 (ii) whether any facilities halted pro12 duction unexpectedly; and 

13 (iii) whether any facilities used for 

14 production were decommissioned or other15 wise permanently removed from service; 

16 and 

17 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

18 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

19 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

20 including the extent to which other medical iso21 topes that have been produced with molyb22 denum-99, such as iodine-131 and xenon-133, 

23 are being used for medical purposes. 

24 (2) An assessment of the progress made by the 

25 Department and others to eliminate all worldwide 


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1 use of highly enriched uranium in reactor fuel, reac2 tor targets, and medical isotope production facilities. 

3 SEC. 9. REPEAL. 

4 The Nuclear Safety Research, Development, and 

5 Demonstration Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.) is 

6 repealed. 

7 SEC. 10. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

8 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

9 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, 

10 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

11 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

12 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

13 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro14 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

15 vote on passage. 

Passed the Senate November 17, 2011. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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