I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3921

To protect public health and safety, should the testing of nuclear weapons 

by the United States be resumed. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2004

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 

and Commerce, and Resources, 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 protect public health and safety, should the testing of 

nuclear weapons by the United States be resumed.

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 ‘‘Safety for Americans 

5 from Nuclear Weapons Testing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
2

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (1) From 1951 until 1992, the United States 

2 conducted over 900 nuclear weapons tests at the Ne3 vada Test Site. 

4 (2) Of those tests, 100 exploded above ground 

5 and approximately one-fourth of those were bigger 

6 than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. 

7 (3) The remaining 804 tests were detonated un8 derground, yet many of these tests also released sig9 nificant amounts of radioactive fallout into the at10 mosphere. The Shot Baneberry, detonated in 1970, 

11 was buried 900 feet below ground but radioactive 

12 debris erupted 10,000 feet into the air. 

13 (4) Public health researchers studied the impli14 cations of radiation fallout and weapons testing in 

15 1961 and discovered significant negative health ef16 fects. 

17 (5) These research findings were not released 

18 until 1979. In the meantime, American citizens were 

19 never warned about the likelihood of contamination 

20 in areas downwind of the blasts nor were they alert21 ed to adverse health effects associated with radiation 

22 exposure. 

23 (6) During the 1980s, public pressure forced 

24 the Federal Government to address surprisingly high 

25 rates of cancer and other illnesses among people ex-
3

•HR 3921 IH 

1 posed to radioactive fallout, commonly known as 

2 ‘‘downwinders,’’ which led to the passage of the Ra3 diation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990. 

4 (7) To date, only one comprehensive radiation 

5 exposure study of an isotope, iodine-131, has been 

6 conducted and released. Iodine-131 is only one of 

7 more than 150 radionuclides released by the tests to 

8 which the American people were exposed. 

9 (8) This same radioactive fallout study, con10 ducted by the National Cancer Institute, shows that 

11 exposure was not limited to residents of Nevada and 

12 Utah. Extensive radiation exposure has been docu13 mented in all of the contiguous 48 States, with some 

14 counties in the Midwest and the eastern United 

15 States receiving more fallout than some areas di16 rectly downwind of the Nevada Test Site. 

17 (9) The United States has engaged in a mora18 torium on nuclear weapons testing since 1992. How19 ever, the United States might in the future decide 

20 to resume nuclear weapons testing. 

21 (10) Before any resumption of nuclear weapons 

22 testing, the American public deserves much greater 

23 accountability from the Federal Government with re24 spect to the health and safety aspects of nuclear 

25 weapons testing. 
4

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (11) Therefore, the Federal Government must 

2 ensure public safety in the event of future nuclear 

3 weapons tests through a thorough analysis of the en4 vironmental effects of testing, public notification, 

5 comprehensive and independent test monitoring, and 

6 extensive health research efforts. 

7 SEC. 3. TREATMENT UNDER NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

8 POLICY ACT OF 1969 OF ACTIONS RELATING 

9 TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each of the actions described in 

11 subsection (b) by a Federal agency is deemed to be a 

12 major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of 

13 the human environment for which a separate detailed envi14 ronmental impact statement is required under section 

15 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

16 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

17 (b) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions referred to in 

18 subsection (a) are the following: 

19 (1) Any action having as a purpose the resump20 tion of nuclear weapon or nuclear explosive device 

21 tests at the Nevada Test Site. 

22 (2) Use of a location other than the Nevada 

23 Test Site for testing of a nuclear weapon or nuclear 

24 explosive device. 

25 (c) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—
5

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of a Federal agen2 cy shall include in the environmental impact state3 ment prepared for an action described in subsection 

4 (b) a detailed description of—

5 (A) the possibility of radiation containment 

6 failure as a result of the action and the effects 

7 of such containment failure; and 

8 (B) possible long term effects on the water 

9 table from underground radiation leakage re10 sulting from the action. 

11 (2) INFORMATION FOR CATEGORIES OF WEAP12 ONS.—In the case of an action described in sub13 section (b) that is expected to result in the testing 

14 of more than one nuclear weapon or nuclear explo15 sive device, the description required under paragraph 

16 (1) shall be included, separately, with respect to 

17 each of the following 3 classes of weapons and de18 vices that might be the subject of such tests: 

19 (A) Weapons and devices having a yield of 

20 less than 15 kilotons. 

21 (B) Weapons and devices having a yield of 

22 not less than 15 kilotons and not greater than 

23 50 kilotons. 

24 (C) Weapons and devices having a yield 

25 greater than 50 kilotons. 
6

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF STATEMENTS.—The head of a 

2 Federal agency that carries out an action described in sub3 section (b)—

4 (1) shall make publicly available the detailed 

5 statement required for the action under section 

6 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

7 of 1969, notwithstanding the existence of a classified 

8 annex for the statement; and 

9 (2) shall submit to the Congress each classified 

10 annex to such a statement. 

11 (e) EXISTING STATEMENTS NOT SUFFICIENT.—Any 

12 statement prepared before the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act shall not be treated as the statement required 

14 by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Pol15 icy Act of 1969 with respect to an action described in sub16 section (b). 

17 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED FOR 

18 RESUMPTION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST19 ING. 

20 The United States may not resume testing of nuclear 

21 weapons or any other nuclear explosive devices unless au22 thorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act. 

24 SEC. 5. PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 

25 (a) ADVANCE PUBLIC NOTICE OF EACH TEST.—
7

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States may not 

2 carry out a test of a nuclear weapon or any other 

3 nuclear explosive device unless, for each such test, 

4 the President first provides, not less than 7 days be5 fore the date of the test, public notice of each of the 

6 following: 

7 (A) The fact that such a test is to be car8 ried out. 

9 (B) The date and approximate time of the 

10 test. 

11 (C) The location of the test, including spe12 cific longitude and latitude. 

13 (2) REVISIONS.—To the extent any information 

14 provided pursuant to paragraph (1) changes, the 

15 President shall promptly provide public notice of the 

16 changes and of any other information necessary to 

17 comply with paragraph (1). 

18 (b) PROMPT NOTICE OF EACH RELEASE OF RADI19 ATION BEYOND NTS.—Whenever a test of a nuclear 

20 weapon by the United States results in a release of radi21 ation beyond the boundaries of the Nevada Test Site, the 

22 President shall promptly provide public notice of each of 

23 the following: 

24 (1) The actual date, time, and location of the 

25 test. 
8

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (2) The fact that such a test has resulted in 

2 such a release. 

3 (3) The nature and extent of the release. 

4 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The requirements of 

5 subsections (a) and (b) shall apply notwithstanding any 

6 provision of law that would otherwise require or permit 

7 the information to not be made public. 

8 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INDEPENDENT RADIATION 

9 MONITORING. 

10 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 

11 available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Home12 land Security, acting through the Office for Domestic Pre13 paredness, shall carry out a program under which the Sec14 retary makes grants to institutions of higher education for 

15 use by those institutions only to acquire radiation detec16 tion equipment and sensors and, for a period of 10 years 

17 thereafter, to maintain and operate such equipment and 

18 sensors. 

19 (b) PREFERENCE.—In making grants under this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall give preference to institutions in 

21 those States that received high levels of fallout from nu22 clear weapons tests, as determined by data collected by 

23 the National Cancer Institute. 

24 (c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a 

25 grant, the institution shall, whenever the United States 
9

•HR 3921 IH 

1 carries out a test of a nuclear weapon or other nuclear 

2 explosive device during the period referred to in subsection 

3 (a)—

4 (1) use the equipment and sensors to carry out 

5 monitoring to determine the nature and amount of 

6 any radiation from the test that reaches such sen7 sors; and 

8 (2) ensure that all information on radiation ob9 tained through monitoring under paragraph (1) is 

10 made available to the public. 

11 SEC. 7. MONITORING OF RELEASES OF RADIATION INTO 

12 THE ATMOSPHERE. 

13 (a) MONITORING BY DOE AND EPA.—Whenever the 

14 United States carries out a test of a nuclear weapon or 

15 other nuclear explosive device, monitoring to determine the 

16 nature and extent of any radiation released into the at17 mosphere shall be carried out by—

18 (1) the Secretary of Energy, using—

19 (A) all available monitoring systems of the 

20 Department of Energy located on or off the test 

21 site; and 

22 (B) any other complementary monitoring 

23 system located off the test site that is made 

24 available to the Secretary by the head of any 

25 other element of the Federal Government; and 
10

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (2) the Administrator of the Environmental 

2 Protection Agency, using one or more monitoring 

3 systems and in consultation with the head of any 

4 other element of the Federal Government with a 

5 monitoring system located off the test site. 

6 (b) DOE ASSESSMENT OF CONTAINMENT.—For each 

7 test, the Secretary of Energy shall assess and evaluate the 

8 containment of the test, both before and after the test. 

9 (c) EPA MONITORING.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The monitoring under sub11 section (a)(2) by the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency shall use a combination of 

13 temporary ground sensors, permanent ground sen14 sors, and airborne sensors. 

15 (2) REAL-TIME MONITORING REQUIRED.—Any 

16 sensors required by paragraph (1) that operate by 

17 gathering air particulates shall have real-time moni18 toring capabilities. 

19 (3) PLACEMENT.—The Administrator of the 

20 Environmental Protection Agency shall determine 

21 the locations for the sensors required by paragraph 

22 (1) in consultation with the Administrator of the 

23 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

24 the head of any other element of the Federal Gov25 ernment with a suitable monitoring system located 
11

•HR 3921 IH 

1 off the test site, and the head of any other element 

2 of the Federal Government that the Administrator 

3 of the Environmental Protection Agency considers 

4 appropriate. The determinations shall be based on 

5 proximity to major agricultural zones, population 

6 centers, public water resources, and areas with high 

7 levels of fallout from previous tests. 

8 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE OF MONITORING DATA.—The 

9 Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental 

10 Protection Agency each shall ensure that all information 

11 on radiation obtained through monitoring under sub12 section (a) is made available to the public on the Internet 

13 as soon as available, and in any event not more than 24 

14 hours after such information is collected. 

15 (e) FINDING OF RELEASE.—If, in monitoring any 

16 such test, the head of any element of the Federal Govern17 ment determines that a release of radiation beyond the 

18 boundaries of the NTS has occurred—

19 (1) the Administrator of the Environmental 

20 Protection Agency shall immediately submit a report 

21 to Congress providing notice of that determination; 

22 (2) the United States shall stop all testing of all 

23 nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, 

24 except as otherwise provided in an Act enacted after 

25 the date of the test; and 
12

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (3) the Attorney General shall carry out a pro2 gram, substantially similar to the program under 

3 section 4 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note), under which compensa5 tion is provided to individuals adversely affected by 

6 that release of radiation. 

7 SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY 

8 OF RADIATION AND HUMAN HEALTH. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From amounts made avail10 able to carry out this section, the Director of the National 

11 Institutes of Health shall make a grant to a university 

12 or a consortium of universities located in the inter13 mountain west region of the United States to establish, 

14 maintain, and operate a center described in subsection (b), 

15 to be known as the National Center for the Study of Radi16 ation and Human Health. 

17 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the National Cen18 ter for the Study of Radiation and Human Health shall 

19 include the following: 

20 (1) Awarding grants to institutions of higher 

21 education for research on the relationship between 

22 radiation and human health, including any health ef23 fects or illness related to exposure to particular ra24 dioactive isotopes. 
13

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (2) Studying the relationship between radiation 

2 and human health, including fallout data collection. 

3 (3) Coordinating efforts relating to research on 

4 radiation and human health. 

5 (4) Collecting, maintaining, and making avail6 able to the public by means of the Internet an ar7 chive of fallout data and human health effects data. 

8 (c) REPORT.—The National Center for the Study of 

9 Radiation and Human Health shall submit to Congress, 

10 and make available to the public, an annual report on the 

11 activities of the Center. 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

14 necessary to carry out this section. 

15 SEC. 9. STUDY OF INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO NUCLEAR 

16 WEAPONS TESTS. 

17 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services, acting through the Director of the National Can20 cer Institute, shall—

21 (1) complete a study to estimate the dose of all 

22 radionuclides received by the United States popu23 lation as a result of exposure to nuclear weapons 

24 tests conducted in the United States; 
14

•HR 3921 IH 

1 (2) disaggregate the results of such study by 

2 organ, by radionuclide, and by demographic vari3 ables; 

4 (3) submit a report to Congress on the results 

5 of such study; and 

6 (4) make such results publicly available.

Æ