I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 730 

To strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Security to develop 

nuclear forensics capabilities to permit attribution of the source of nuclear material, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2009 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, 

and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Security to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit 

attribution of the source of nuclear material, 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 ‘‘Nuclear Forensics and 

5 Attribution Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The threat of a nuclear terrorist attack on 

4 American interests, both domestic and abroad, is one 

5 of the most serious threats to the national security 

6 of the United States. In the wake of an attack, attri7 bution of responsibility would be of utmost impor8 tance. Because of the destructive power of a nuclear 

9 weapon, there could be little forensic evidence except 

10 the radioactive material in the weapon itself. 

11 (2) Through advanced nuclear forensics, using 

12 both existing techniques and those under develop13 ment, it may be possible to identify the source and 

14 pathway of a weapon or material after it is inter15 dicted or detonated. Though identifying intercepted 

16 smuggled material is now possible in some cases, 

17 pre-detonation forensics is a relatively undeveloped 

18 field. The post-detonation nuclear forensics field is 

19 also immature, and the challenges are compounded 

20 by the pressures and time constraints of performing 

21 forensics after a nuclear or radiological attack. 

22 (3) A robust and well-known capability to iden23 tify the source of nuclear or radiological material in24 tended for or used in an act of terror could also 

25 deter prospective proliferators. Furthermore, the 

26 threat of effective attribution could compel improved 


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1 security at material storage facilities, preventing the 

2 unwitting transfer of nuclear or radiological mate3 rials. 

4 (4)(A) In order to identify special nuclear mate5 rial and other radioactive materials confidently, it is 

6 necessary to have a robust capability to acquire sam7 ples in a timely manner, analyze and characterize 

8 samples, and compare samples against known signa9 tures of nuclear and radiological material. 

10 (B) Many of the radioisotopes produced in the 

11 detonation of a nuclear device have short half-lives, 

12 so the timely acquisition of samples is of the utmost 

13 importance. Over the past several decades, the abil14 ity of the United States to gather atmospheric sam15 ples—often the preferred method of sample acquisi16 tion—has diminished. This ability must be restored 

17 and modern techniques that could complement or re18 place existing techniques should be pursued. 

19 (C) The discipline of pre-detonation forensics is 

20 a relatively undeveloped field. The radiation associ21 ated with a nuclear or radiological device may affect 

22 traditional forensics techniques in unknown ways. In 

23 a post-detonation scenario, radiochemistry may pro24 vide the most useful tools for analysis and character25 ization of samples. The number of radiochemistry 


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1 programs and radiochemists in United States Na2 tional Laboratories and universities has dramatically 

3 declined over the past several decades. The nar4 rowing pipeline of qualified people into this critical 

5 field is a serious impediment to maintaining a robust 

6 and credible nuclear forensics program. 

7 (5) Once samples have been acquired and char8 acterized, it is necessary to compare the results 

9 against samples of known material from reactors, 

10 weapons, and enrichment facilities, and from med11 ical, academic, commercial, and other facilities con12 taining such materials, throughout the world. Some 

13 of these samples are available to the International 

14 Atomic Energy Agency through safeguards agree15 ments, and some countries maintain internal sample 

16 databases. Access to samples in many countries is 

17 limited by national security concerns. 

18 (6) In order to create a sufficient deterrent, it 

19 is necessary to have the capability to positively iden20 tify the source of nuclear or radiological material, 

21 and potential traffickers in nuclear or radiological 

22 material must be aware of that capability. Inter23 national cooperation may be essential to catalogue 

24 all existing sources of nuclear or radiological mate25 rial. 


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1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREE2 MENTS FOR FORENSICS COOPERATION. 

3 It is the sense of the Congress that the President 

4 should— 

5 (1) pursue bilateral and multilateral inter6 national agreements to establish, or seek to establish 

7 under the auspices of existing bilateral or multilat8 eral agreements, an international framework for de9 termining the source of any confiscated nuclear or 

10 radiological material or weapon, as well as the 

11 source of any detonated weapon and the nuclear or 

12 radiological material used in such a weapon; 

13 (2) develop protocols for the data exchange and 

14 dissemination of sensitive information relating to nu15 clear or radiological materials and samples of con16 trolled nuclear or radiological materials, to the ex17 tent required by the agreements entered into under 

18 paragraph (1); and 

19 (3) develop expedited protocols for the data ex20 change and dissemination of sensitive information 

21 needed to publicly identify the source of a nuclear 

22 detonation. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF DOMESTIC NUCLEAR DETEC2 TION OFFICE. 

3 (a) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 1902 

4 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as redesignated 

5 by Public Law 110–53; 6 U.S.C. 592) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

8 after the semicolon; 

9 (B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 

10 paragraph (14); and 

11 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(10) develop and implement, with the approval 

14 of the Secretary and in coordination with the heads 

15 of appropriate departments and agencies, methods 

16 and capabilities to support the attribution of nuclear 

17 or radiological material to its source when such ma18 terial is intercepted by the United States, foreign 

19 governments, or international bodies or is dispersed 

20 in the course of a terrorist attack or other nuclear 

21 or radiological explosion; 

22 ‘‘(11) establish, within the Domestic Nuclear 

23 Detection Office, the National Technical Nuclear 

24 Forensics Center to provide centralized stewardship, 

25 planning, assessment, gap analysis, exercises, im26 provement, and integration for all Federal nuclear 


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1 forensics activities in order to ensure an enduring 

2 national technical nuclear forensics capability and 

3 strengthen the collective response of the United 

4 States to nuclear terrorism or other nuclear attacks; 

5 ‘‘(12) establish a National Nuclear Forensics 

6 Expertise Development Program which— 

7 ‘‘(A) is devoted to developing and main8 taining a vibrant and enduring academic path9 way from undergraduate to post-doctorate 

10 study in nuclear and geochemical science spe11 cialties directly relevant to technical nuclear 

12 forensics, including radiochemistry, geo13 chemistry, nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, 

14 materials science, and analytical chemistry; and 

15 ‘‘(B) shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) make available for undergraduate 

17 study student scholarships, with a duration 

18 of up to four years per student, which shall 

19 include, whenever possible, at least one 

20 summer internship at a national laboratory 

21 or appropriate Federal agency in the field 

22 of technical nuclear forensics during the 

23 course of the student’s undergraduate ca24 reer; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) make available for graduate 

2 study student fellowships, with a duration 

3 of up to five years per student, which— 

4 ‘‘(I) shall include, whenever pos5 sible, at least two summer internships 

6 at a national laboratory or appro7 priate Federal agency in the field of 

8 technical nuclear forensics during the 

9 course of the student’s graduate ca10 reer; and 

11 ‘‘(II) shall require each recipient 

12 to commit to serve for two years in a 

13 post-doctoral position in a technical 

14 nuclear forensics-related specialty at a 

15 national laboratory or appropriate 

16 Federal agency after graduation; 

17 ‘‘(iii) make available to faculty 

18 awards, with a duration of three to five 

19 years each, to ensure faculty and their 

20 graduate students a sustained funding 

21 stream; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) place a particular emphasis on 

23 reinvigorating technical nuclear forensics 

24 programs, while encouraging the participa25 tion of undergraduate students, graduate 


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1 students, and university faculty from his2 torically Black colleges and universities, 

3 Hispanic-serving institutions, and Tribal 

4 Colleges and Universities; 

5 ‘‘(13) provide an annual report to Congress on 

6 the activities carried out under paragraphs (10), 

7 (11), and (12); and’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI12 VERSITY.—The term ‘historically Black college or 

13 university’ has the meaning given the term ‘part B 

14 institution’ in section 322(2) of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 

16 ‘‘(2) HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

17 term ‘Hispanic-serving institution’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 502 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a). 

20 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

21 term ‘Tribal College or University’ has the meaning 

22 given that term in section 316(b) of the Higher 

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)).’’. 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated the sum of $30,000,000 for 


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1 each of the fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011 to carry 

2 out paragraphs (10) through (13) of section 1902(a) of 

3 the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by sub4 section (a) of this section. 

Æ 


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