IB 

Union Calendar No. 187 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3276 

[Report No. 111–328] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 21, 2009 

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts (for himself and Mr. UPTON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

NOVEMBER 4, 2009 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. 

INSLEE, Ms. SUTTON, and Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California 

NOVEMBER 4, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 21, 2009] 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3276 RH

A BILL 

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. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3276 RH

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 ‘‘American Medical Iso5 topes Production Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Molybdenum-99 is a critical medical isotope 

9 whose decay product technecium-99m is used in ap10 proximately two-thirds of all diagnostic medical iso11 tope procedures in the United States, or 16 million 

12 medical procedures annually, including for the detec13 tion of cancer, heart disease, and thyroid disease, in14 vestigating the operation of the brain and kidney, im15 aging stress fractures, and tracking cancer stages. 

16 (2) Molybdenum-99 has a half-life of 66 hours, 

17 and decays at a rate of approximately one percent 

18 per hour after production. As such, molybdenum-99 

19 cannot be stockpiled. Instead, molybdenum-99 produc20 tion must be scheduled to meet the projected demand 

21 and any interruption of the supply chain from pro22 duction, to processing, packaging, distribution, and 

23 use can disrupt patient care. 

24 (3) There are no facilities within the United 

25 States that are dedicated to the production of molybVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:56 Nov 04, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3276.RH H3276

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3276 RH

1 denum-99 for medical uses. The United States must 

2 import molybdenum-99 from foreign production fa3 cilities, and is dependent upon the continued oper4 ation of these foreign facilities for millions of critical 

5 medical procedures annually. 

6 (4) Most reactors in the world which produce 

7 molybdenum-99 utilize highly enriched uranium, 

8 which can also be used in the construction of nuclear 

9 weapons. In January 2009, the National Academy of 

10 Sciences encouraged molybdenum-99 producers to 

11 convert from highly enriched uranium to low enriched 

12 uranium, and found that there are ‘‘no technical rea13 sons that adequate quantities cannot be produced 

14 from LEU targets in the future’’ and that ‘‘a 7-10 

15 year phase-out period would likely allow enough time 

16 for all current HEU-based producers to convert’’. 

17 (5) The 51-year-old National Research Universal 

18 reactor in Canada, which is responsible for producing 

19 approximately sixty percent of United States demand 

20 for molybdenum-99 under normal conditions, was 

21 shut down unexpectedly May 14, 2009, after the dis22 covery of a leak of radioactive water. It is unclear 

23 whether the National Research Universal reactor will 

24 be able to resume production of molybdenum-99. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3276 RH

1 (6) The United States currently faces an acute 

2 shortage of molybdenum-99 and its decay product 

3 technetium-99m due to technical problems which have 

4 seriously interrupted operations of foreign nuclear re5 actors producing molybdenum-99. 

6 (7) As a result of the critical shortage of molyb7 denum-99, patient care in the United States is suf8 fering. Medical procedures requiring technetium-99 

9 are being rationed or delayed, and alternative treat10 ments which are less effective, more costly, and may 

11 result in increased radiation doses to patients are 

12 being substituted in lieu of technetium-99. 

13 (8) The radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 and 

14 its decay product technetium-99m are critical to the 

15 health care of Americans, and the continued avail16 ability of these isotopes, in a reliable and affordable 

17 manner, is in the interest of the United States. 

18 (9) The United States should move expeditiously 

19 to ensure that an adequate and reliable supply of mo20 lybdenum-99 can be produced in the United States, 

21 without the use of highly enriched uranium. 

22 (10) Other important medical isotopes, including 

23 iodine-131 and xenon-133, can be produced as by24 products of the molybdenum-99 fission production 

25 process. In January 2009, the National Academy of 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3276 RH

1 Sciences concluded that these important medical iso2 topes ‘‘will be sufficiently available if Mo-99 is avail3 able’’. The coproduction of medically useful isotopes 

4 such as iodine-131 and xenon-133 is an important 

5 benefit of establishing molybdenum-99 production in 

6 the United States without the use of highly enriched 

7 uranium, and these coproduced isotopes should also be 

8 available for necessary medical uses. 

9 (11) The United States should accelerate its ef10 forts to convert nuclear reactors worldwide away from 

11 the use of highly enriched uranium, which can be 

12 used in nuclear weapons, to low enriched uranium. 

13 Converting nuclear reactors away from the use of 

14 highly enriched uranium is a critically important ele15 ment of United States efforts to prevent nuclear ter16 rorism, and supports the goal announced in Prague 

17 by President Barack Obama on April 5, 2009, to cre18 ate ‘‘a new international effort to secure all vulner19 able nuclear material around the world within four 

20 years’’. 

21 (12) The United States is engaged in an effort 

22 to convert civilian nuclear test and research reactors 

23 from highly enriched uranium fuel to low enriched 

24 uranium fuel through the Global Threat Reduction 

25 Initiative. As of September 2009, this program has 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3276 RH

1 successfully converted 17 reactors in the United States 

2 to low enriched uranium fuel, some of which are ca3 pable of producing molybdenum-99 for medical uses. 

4 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF DOMESTIC MED5 ICAL ISOTOPE SUPPLY. 

6 (a) MEDICAL ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

8 establish a program to evaluate and support projects 

9 for the production in the United States, without the 

10 use of highly enriched uranium, of significant quan11 tities of molybdenum-99 for medical uses. 

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

13 the following primary criteria: 

14 (A) The length of time necessary for the pro15 posed project to begin production of molyb16 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

17 States. 

18 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

19 to produce a significant percentage of United 

20 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

21 uses. 

22 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

23 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor fueled with 

24 highly enriched uranium shall not be disqualified 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3276 RH

1 from the program if the Secretary of Energy deter2 mines that— 

3 (A) there is no alternative nuclear reactor 

4 fuel, enriched in the isotope U-235 to less than 

5 20 percent, that can be used in that reactor; 

6 (B) the reactor operator has provided assur7 ances that, whenever an alternative nuclear reac8 tor fuel, enriched in the isotope U-235 to less 

9 than 20 percent, can be used in that reactor, it 

10 will use that alternative in lieu of highly en11 riched uranium; and 

12 (C) the reactor operator has provided a cur13 rent report on the status of its efforts to convert 

14 the reactor to an alternative nuclear reactor fuel 

15 enriched in the isotope U-235 to less than 20 

16 percent, and an anticipated schedule for comple17 tion of conversion. 

18 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary of Energy for carrying out the program under 

21 paragraph (1) $163,000,000 for the period encom22 passing fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

23 (b) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

24 Energy shall establish a program to provide assistance 

25 for— 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3276 RH

1 (1) the development of fuels, targets, and proc2 esses for domestic molybdenum-99 production that do 

3 not use highly enriched uranium; and 

4 (2) commercial operations using the fuels, tar5 gets, and processes described in paragraph (1). 

6 (c) URANIUM LEASE AND TAKE BACK.—The Secretary 

7 of Energy shall establish a program to make low enriched 

8 uranium available, through lease contracts, for irradiation 

9 for the production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses. The 

10 lease contracts shall provide for the Secretary to retain re11 sponsibility for the final disposition of radioactive waste 

12 created by the irradiation, processing, or purification of 

13 leased uranium. The lease contracts shall also provide for 

14 compensation in cash amounts equivalent to prevailing 

15 market rates for the sale of comparable uranium products 

16 and for compensation in cash amounts equivalent to the 

17 net present value of the cost to the Federal Government for 

18 the final disposition of such radioactive waste, provided 

19 that the discount rate used to determine the net present 

20 value of such costs shall be no greater than the average in21 terest rate on marketable Treasury securities. With respect 

22 to the final disposition of such radioactive waste from such 

23 leased uranium, the Secretary shall not use the authorities 

24 under section 3112 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3276 RH

1 U.S.C. 2297h–10) or section 53, 63, or 161 m. of the Atomic 

2 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093, or 2201(m)). 

3 SEC. 4. EXPORTS. 

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

5 U.S.C. 2160d(b)) is amended by striking subsections b. and 

6 c. and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

7 ‘‘b. Effective 7 years after the date of enactment of the 

8 American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009, the 

9 Commission may not issue a license for the export of highly 

10 enriched uranium from the United States for the purposes 

11 of medical isotope production. 

12 ‘‘c. The period referred to in subsection b. may be ex13 tended for no more than four years if, no earlier than 6 

14 years after the date of enactment of the American Medical 

15 Isotopes Production Act of 2009, the Secretary of Energy 

16 certifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

18 Natural Resources of the Senate that— 

19 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb20 denum-99 produced without the use of highly enriched 

21 uranium available to satisfy the domestic United 

22 States market; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the export of United States-origin highly en24 riched uranium for the purposes of medical isotope 

25 production is the most effective temporary means to 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3276 RH

1 increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to the domestic 

2 United States market. 

3 ‘‘d. At any time after the restriction of export licenses 

4 provided for in subsection b. becomes effective, if there is 

5 a critical shortage in the supply of molybdenum-99 avail6 able to satisfy the domestic United States medical isotope 

7 needs, the restriction of export licenses may be suspended 

8 for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Energy certifies to the Con10 gress that the export of United States-origin highly 

11 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical isotope 

12 production is the only effective temporary means to 

13 increase the supply of molybdenum-99 necessary to 

14 meet United States medical isotope needs during that 

15 period; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the Congress passes a Joint Resolution ap17 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction of 

18 export licenses. 

19 ‘‘e. As used in this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative nuclear reactor fuel or 

21 target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target which 

22 is enriched to less than 20 percent in the isotope U23 235; 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3276 RH

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

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

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

5 research or test reactor if— 

6 ‘‘(A) the fuel or target has been qualified by 

7 the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Re8 actor Program of the Department of Energy; and 

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

10 large majority of ongoing and planned experi11 ments and isotope production to be conducted in 

12 the reactor without a large percentage increase 

13 in the total cost of operating the reactor; and 

14 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb15 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio16 active materials used to produce a radiopharma17 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

18 research and development.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

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

21 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com22 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, shall 

23 submit to the Congress a report detailing the current dis24 position of previous United States exports of highly en25 riched uranium, including— 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3276 RH

1 (1) their location; 

2 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

3 (3) whether they have been used for the purpose 

4 stated in their export license; 

5 (4) whether they have been used for an alter6 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

7 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis8 sion; 

9 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap10 plicable; 

11 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

12 and 

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

14 which adequately protects against theft and unauthor15 ized access. 

16 SEC. 6. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

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

18 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC21 TION. a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant an 

22 amendment to an existing license, for the use in the United 

23 States of highly enriched uranium as a target for medical 

24 isotope production in a nuclear reactor, only if, in addition 

25 to any other requirement of this Act— 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3276 RH

1 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 

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

3 production target, enriched in the isotope U-235 

4 to less than 20 percent, that can be used in that 

5 reactor; and 

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

7 isotope production target has provided assur8 ances that, whenever an alternative medical iso9 tope production target can be used in that reac10 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

11 enriched uranium; and 

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

13 the United States Government is actively supporting 

14 the development of an alternative medical isotope pro15 duction target that can be used in that reactor. 

16 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro18 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

19 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U20 235; 

21 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear research 

22 or test reactor if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the target has been qualified by the Re24 duced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor 

25 Program of the Department of Energy; and 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3276 RH

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

2 majority of ongoing and planned experiments 

3 and isotope production to be conducted in the re4 actor without a large percentage increase in the 

5 total cost of operating the reactor; 

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

7 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso8 tope U-235; and 

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb10 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio11 active materials used to produce a radiopharma12 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

13 research and development.’’. 

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

15 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended in the items 

16 relating to chapter 10, by inserting at the end the following 

17 new item: 

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

18 SEC. 7. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORTS. 

19 The Secretary of Energy shall report to Congress no 

20 later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 and annually thereafter for 5 years, on Department of En22 ergy actions to support the production in the United States, 

23 without the use of highly enriched uranium, of molyb24 denum-99 for medical uses. These reports shall include the 

25 following: 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3276 RH

1 (1) For medical isotope development projects— 

2 (A) the names of any recipients of Depart3 ment of Energy support under section 3 of this 

4 Act; 

5 (B) the amount of Department of Energy 

6 funding committed to each project; 

7 (C) the milestones expected to be reached for 

8 each project during the year for which support 

9 is provided; 

10 (D) how each project is expected to support 

11 the increased production of molybdenum-99 for 

12 medical uses; 

13 (E) the findings of the evaluation of projects 

14 under section 3(a)(2) of this Act; and 

15 (F) the ultimate use of any Department of 

16 Energy funds used to support projects under sec17 tion 3 of this Act. 

18 (2) A description of actions taken in the previous 

19 year by the Secretary of Energy to ensure the safe 

20 disposition of radioactive waste from used molyb21 denum-99 targets. 

22 SEC. 8. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT. 

23 The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an arrange24 ment with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a 

25 study of the state of molybdenum-99 production and utilizaVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:56 Nov 04, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3276.RH H3276

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3276 RH

1 tion, to be provided to the Congress not later than 5 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act. This report shall 

3 include the following: 

4 (1) For molybdenum-99 production— 

5 (A) a list of all facilities in the world pro6 ducing molybdenum-99 for medical uses, includ7 ing an indication of whether these facilities use 

8 highly enriched uranium in any way; 

9 (B) a review of international production of 

10 molybdenum-99 over the previous 5 years, in11 cluding— 

12 (i) whether any new production was 

13 brought online; 

14 (ii) whether any facilities halted pro15 duction unexpectedly; and 

16 (iii) whether any facilities used for 

17 production were decommissioned or other18 wise permanently removed from service; and 

19 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

20 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

21 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

22 including the extent to which other medical iso23 topes coproduced with molybdenum-99, such as 

24 iodine-131 and xenon-133, are being used for 

25 medical purposes. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3276 RH

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

2 Department of Energy and others to eliminate all 

3 worldwide use of highly enriched uranium in reactor 

4 fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production 

5 facilities. 

6 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

9 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

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

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

12 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

13 than 20 percent in the isotope U-235. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 187 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3276 

[Report No. 111–328] 

A BILL 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in 

medical isotopes. highly enriched uranium for the production of and to condition and phase out the export of the United States for medical isotope production, 

NOVEMBER 4, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS