II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 977 

To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain 

time periods from fallout emitted during the Government’s above-ground 

nuclear tests in Nevada that exposed individuals who lived in the downwind affected area in the State of Montana. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2005 

Mr. BURNS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure 

during certain time periods from fallout emitted during 

the Government’s above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada 

that exposed individuals who lived in the downwind affected area in the State of Montana.

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 ‘‘Radiation Exposure 

5 Compensation Act Amendments of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE; APOLOGY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Ninety-nine percent of the Iodine–131 

2 (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘I–131’’) in the atmos3 phere of the United States came from 90 tests in 

4 Nevada, mainly in the years 1952, 1953, 1955 and 

5 1957. I–131 is a leading cause of thyroid cancer in 

6 America. The United States national average dosage 

7 per person is 2 rads. 

8 (2) Of the 25 counties with the heaviest average 

9 dose of I–131, which is between 9 and 16 rads, 15 

10 counties (Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jeffer11 son, Powell, Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, Gal12 latin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Silver 

13 Bow, Chouteau and Deer Lodge) are in the State of 

14 Montana. 

15 (3) The county with the highest per capita thy16 roid dose of I–131 in the country is Meagher county 

17 in Montana with 16 rads, which is 800 percent high18 er than the national average. 

19 (4) Of the 56 counties in Montana, only Yellow20 stone County has an I–131 exposure level near the 

21 national average. None of the counties in Montana 

22 have an I–131 exposure level below the national av23 erage. 
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1 (5) As thyroid cancer takes 10 to 40 years to 

2 develop, radiation exposure in the late 1950s might 

3 not manifest in cancer until the late 1990s. 

4 (6) While the national average for thyroid can5 cer has remained steady over the past 30 years, the 

6 rate of reported thyroid cancer in Montana has in7 creased steadily. In 1980, Montana had a rate of 

8 thyroid cancer 6.2 times the national average. In 

9 1990, that rate had increased to 10.8 times the na10 tional average and in 2000 the rate of reported thy11 roid cancer in Montana was 17.5 times the national 

12 average. 

13 (7) When this data is age-adjusted, it is clear 

14 that the diagnosis rates for thyroid cancer in Mon15 tana have increased dramatically over the past dec16 ade, even relative to an increase in national rates. 

17 Between 1989 and 1993, the age-adjusted rate of 

18 thyroid cancer in Montana was 4.4 people per 

19 10,000 persons, compared to the national average of 

20 5.5 people per 10,000 persons. Between 1994–1998, 

21 that rate increased to 6.3 in Montana, but the na22 tional average only increased to 6.5. Between 1999 

23 and 2003, that rate in Montana increased again to 

24 10.0, surpassing the national average of 7.6. 
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1 (8) Between 1989 and 2003, the national age2 adjusted rate of thyroid cancer diagnosis increased 

3 by 38 percent. During that same period of time, the 

4 rate in Montana increased 127 percent. 

5 (9) These increases in the thyroid cancer rate 

6 correspond with the expected delay for the mani7 festation of thyroid cancer from exposure during the 

8 nuclear testing in the 1950s. 

9 (10) The Radiation Exposure Compensation 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note), enacted in 1990, estab11 lishes in the Department of the Treasury the Radi12 ation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund for claims 

13 for injuries and death due to exposure during cer14 tain time periods to radiation from: (1) nuclear test15 ing in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona; or (2) uranium 

16 mining in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, or Utah. 

17 (11) None of the 5 counties with the highest I–

18 131 exposure, which are located in Montana and 

19 Idaho, are covered under the Radiation Exposure 

20 Compensation Act . Only 3 of the 25 counties with 

21 the highest I-131 exposure are covered. No counties 

22 in Montana are currently covered by the Radiation 

23 Exposure Compensation Act. However, 3 counties in 

24 Nevada with dosage rates nearly equal to the na25 tional average are covered. 
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1 (12) The Board on Radiation Effects Research 

2 at the National Academy of Sciences has conducted 

3 studies on the effects of this radiation exposure in 

4 all 50 States and found that the calculated absorbed 

5 dose to the thyroid of a person born in 1948 who 

6 resided for the entire period evaluated in Montana 

7 is 250 milligrays, higher than any of the counties in 

8 Utah currently eligible for compensation. 

9 (13) Fallout emitted during the Government’s 

10 above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada exposed indi11 viduals who lived in the downwind affected area in 

12 Montana to radiation that is presumed to have gen13 erated an excess of cancers among these individuals. 

14 (14) The United States should recognize and 

15 assume responsibility for the harm done to these in16 dividuals. 

17 (15) The lives and health of innocent individ18 uals who lived downwind from the Nevada tests, in 

19 the State of Montana, were involuntarily subjected 

20 to increased risk of injury and disease to serve the 

21 national security interests of the United States. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab23 lish a procedure to make partial restitution to individuals 

24 described in subsection (a) for the burdens they have 

25 borne for the Nation as a whole. 
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1 (c) APOLOGY.—Congress apologizes on behalf of the 

2 Nation to the individuals described in subsection (a) and 

3 their families for the hardships they have endured. 

4 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO RECA. 

5 (a) COMPENSATION IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b)(1) of 

6 the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 2210 note) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) in the State of Montana, the counties 

12 of Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jeffer13 son, Powell, Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, 

14 Gallatin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, 

15 Silver Bow, Chouteau, and Deer Lodge; and’’. 

16 (b) ADDITIONAL RELIEF.—Section 4 of the Radi17 ation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL RELIEF.— 

20 ‘‘(1) OTHER AREAS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who re22 sided in a region of Montana not covered under 

23 subsection (b)(1)(D) during the time period de24 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may apply for 

25 compensation under this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—The National Cancer 

2 Institute, in collaboration with the Centers for 

3 Disease Control and Prevention, shall evaluate 

4 whether an individual submitting an application 

5 under subparagraph (A) is eligible for com6 pensation under this Act on a case-by-case 

7 basis. 

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER EXPENSES.—An individual who is 

9 eligible for compensation under subsection (b)(1)(D) 

10 or paragraph (1) shall also receive compensation 

11 from the Fund for the costs of screening, complica12 tions of screening, follow-up referrals, work-up diag13 nosis, and treatment related to the specific disease 

14 contracted by the individual.’’. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

16 3(e) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(3) RECA AMENDMENTS OF 2005.—There are 

20 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

21 $200,000,000 to carry out the Radiation Exposure 

22 Compensation Act Amendments of 2005. Any 

23 amounts appropriated pursuant to this paragraph 

24 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

25 Of the funds appropriated to carry out the Radi-
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1 ation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 

2 2005, not less than 95 percent of the funds ex3 pended shall be distributed directly to victims of ra4 diation exposure.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

6 The Health Resources and Services Administration 

7 shall conduct an enhanced program of education and com8 munication about the health risks posed by radiation expo9 sure from fallout from United States nuclear-weapons 

10 testing.

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