IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3276 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 6, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

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, 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Medical Iso3 topes Production Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

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

7 whose decay product technecium-99m is used in ap8 proximately two-thirds of all diagnostic medical iso9 tope procedures in the United States, or 16 million 

10 medical procedures annually, including for the detec11 tion of cancer, heart disease, and thyroid disease, in12 vestigating the operation of the brain and kidney, 

13 imaging stress fractures, and tracking cancer stages. 

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

15 and decays at a rate of approximately one percent 

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

17 cannot be stockpiled. Instead, molybdenum-99 pro18 duction must be scheduled to meet the projected de19 mand and any interruption of the supply chain from 

20 production, to processing, packaging, distribution, 

21 and use can disrupt patient care. 

22 (3) There are no facilities within the United 

23 States that are dedicated to the production of mo24 lybdenum-99 for medical uses. The United States 

25 must import molybdenum-99 from foreign produc26 tion facilities, and is dependent upon the continued 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 operation of these foreign facilities for millions of 

2 critical medical procedures annually. 

3 (4) Most reactors in the world which produce 

4 molybdenum-99 utilize highly enriched uranium, 

5 which can also be used in the construction of nuclear 

6 weapons. In January 2009, the National Academy of 

7 Sciences encouraged molybdenum-99 producers to 

8 convert from highly enriched uranium to low en9 riched uranium, and found that there are ‘‘no tech10 nical reasons that adequate quantities cannot be 

11 produced from LEU targets in the future’’ and that 

12 ‘‘a 7-10 year phase-out period would likely allow 

13 enough time for all current HEU-based producers to 

14 convert’’. 

15 (5) The 51-year-old National Research Uni16 versal reactor in Canada, which is responsible for 

17 producing approximately sixty percent of United 

18 States demand for molybdenum-99 under normal 

19 conditions, was shut down unexpectedly May 14, 

20 2009, after the discovery of a leak of radioactive 

21 water. It is unclear whether the National Research 

22 Universal reactor will be able to resume production 

23 of molybdenum-99. 

24 (6) The United States currently faces an acute 

25 shortage of molybdenum-99 and its decay product 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 technetium-99m due to technical problems which 

2 have seriously interrupted operations of foreign nu3 clear reactors producing molybdenum-99. 

4 (7) As a result of the critical shortage of molyb5 denum-99, patient care in the United States is suf6 fering. Medical procedures requiring technetium-99 

7 are being rationed or delayed, and alternative treat8 ments which are less effective, more costly, and may 

9 result in increased radiation doses to patients are 

10 being substituted in lieu of technetium-99. 

11 (8) The radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 and 

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

13 health care of Americans, and the continued avail14 ability of these isotopes, in a reliable and affordable 

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

16 (9) The United States should move expedi17 tiously to ensure that an adequate and reliable sup18 ply of molybdenum-99 can be produced in the 

19 United States, without the use of highly enriched 

20 uranium. 

21 (10) Other important medical isotopes, includ22 ing iodine-131 and xenon-133, can be produced as 

23 byproducts of the molybdenum-99 fission production 

24 process. In January 2009, the National Academy of 

25 Sciences concluded that these important medical isoVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:31 Nov 06, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.RFS H3276

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 topes ‘‘will be sufficiently available if Mo-99 is avail2 able’’. The coproduction of medically useful isotopes 

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

4 benefit of establishing molybdenum-99 production in 

5 the United States without the use of highly enriched 

6 uranium, and these coproduced isotopes should also 

7 be available for necessary medical uses. 

8 (11) The United States should accelerate its ef9 forts to convert nuclear reactors worldwide away 

10 from the use of highly enriched uranium, which can 

11 be used in nuclear weapons, to low enriched ura12 nium. Converting nuclear reactors away from the 

13 use of highly enriched uranium is a critically impor14 tant element of United States efforts to prevent nu15 clear terrorism, and supports the goal announced in 

16 Prague by President Barack Obama on April 5, 

17 2009, to create ‘‘a new international effort to secure 

18 all vulnerable nuclear material around the world 

19 within four years’’. 

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

21 to convert civilian nuclear test and research reactors 

22 from highly enriched uranium fuel to low enriched 

23 uranium fuel through the Global Threat Reduction 

24 Initiative. As of September 2009, this program has 

25 successfully converted 17 reactors in the United 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 States to low enriched uranium fuel, some of which 

2 are capable of producing molybdenum-99 for medical 

3 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 

8 shall establish a program to evaluate and support 

9 projects for the production in the United States, 

10 without the use of highly enriched uranium, of sig11 nificant quantities of molybdenum-99 for medical 

12 uses. 

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

14 the following primary criteria: 

15 (A) The length of time necessary for the 

16 proposed project to begin production of molyb17 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

18 States. 

19 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

20 to produce a significant percentage of United 

21 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

22 uses. 

23 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

24 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor fueled 

25 with highly enriched uranium shall not be disqualiVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:31 Nov 06, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.RFS H3276

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 fied from the program if the Secretary of Energy de2 termines 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 as7 surances that, whenever an alternative nuclear 

8 reactor fuel, enriched in the isotope U-235 to 

9 less than 20 percent, can be used in that reac10 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

11 enriched uranium; and 

12 (C) the reactor operator has provided a 

13 current report on the status of its efforts to 

14 convert the reactor to an alternative nuclear re15 actor fuel enriched in the isotope U-235 to less 

16 than 20 percent, and an anticipated schedule 

17 for completion 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
8 

HR 3276 RFS 

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

3 do 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 Sec7 retary of Energy shall establish a program to make low 

8 enriched uranium available, through lease contracts, for 

9 irradiation for the production of molybdenum-99 for med10 ical uses. The lease contracts shall provide for the Sec11 retary to retain responsibility for the final disposition of 

12 radioactive waste created by the irradiation, processing, 

13 or purification of leased uranium. The lease contracts 

14 shall also provide for compensation in cash amounts equiv15 alent to prevailing market rates for the sale of comparable 

16 uranium products and for compensation in cash amounts 

17 equivalent to the net present value of the cost to the Fed18 eral Government for the final disposition of such radio19 active waste, provided that the discount rate used to deter20 mine the net present value of such costs shall be no great21 er than the average interest rate on marketable Treasury 

22 securities. The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell 

23 or transfer uranium in any form in exchange for services 

24 related to final disposition of the radioactive waste from 

25 such leased uranium. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 SEC. 4. EXPORTS. 

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

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

4 and c. and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

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

6 the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009, 

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

8 highly enriched uranium from the United States for the 

9 purposes of medical isotope production. 

10 ‘‘c. The period referred to in subsection b. may be 

11 extended for no more than four years if, no earlier than 

12 6 years after the date of enactment of the American Med13 ical Isotopes Production Act of 2009, the Secretary of En14 ergy certifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

15 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate that— 

17 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb18 denum-99 produced without the use of highly en19 riched uranium available to satisfy the domestic 

20 United States market; and 

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

22 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical iso23 tope production is the most effective temporary 

24 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to 

25 the domestic United States market. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 3276 RFS 

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

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

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

4 available to satisfy the domestic United States medical iso5 tope needs, the restriction of export licenses may be sus6 pended for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

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

8 Congress that the export of United States-origin 

9 highly enriched uranium for the purposes of medical 

10 isotope production is the only effective temporary 

11 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 nec12 essary to meet United States medical isotope needs 

13 during that period; and 

14 ‘‘(2) the Congress passes a Joint Resolution ap15 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction 

16 of export licenses. 

17 ‘‘e. As used in this section— 

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

19 or target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target 

20 which is enriched to less than 20 percent in the iso21 tope U-235; 

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

23 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso24 tope U-235; 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 3276 RFS 

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

2 research or test reactor if— 

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

4 by the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test 

5 Reactor Program of the Department of Energy; 

6 and 

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

8 the large majority of ongoing and planned ex9 periments and isotope production to be con10 ducted in the reactor without a large percentage 

11 increase in the total cost of operating the reac12 tor; and 

13 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb14 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio15 active materials used to produce a radiopharma16 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

17 research and development.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

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

20 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com21 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, 

22 shall submit to the Congress a report detailing the current 

23 disposition of previous United States exports of highly en24 riched uranium, including— 

25 (1) their location; 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

2 (3) whether they have been used for the pur3 pose stated in their export license; 

4 (4) whether they have been used for an alter5 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

6 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis7 sion; 

8 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap9 plicable; 

10 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

11 and 

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

13 which adequately protects against theft and unau14 thorized access. 

15 SEC. 6. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

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

17 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC20 TION. a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant 

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

22 United States of highly enriched uranium as a target for 

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

24 in addition to any other requirement of this Act— 

25 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
13 

HR 3276 RFS 

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

2 production target, enriched in the isotope U3 235 to less than 20 percent, that can be used 

4 in that reactor; and 

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

6 isotope production target has provided assur7 ances that, whenever an alternative medical iso8 tope production target can be used in that reac9 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

10 enriched uranium; and 

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

12 the United States Government is actively supporting 

13 the development of an alternative medical isotope 

14 production target that can be used in that reactor. 

15 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro17 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

18 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U19 235; 

20 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear re21 search or test reactor if— 

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

23 Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reac24 tor Program of the Department of Energy; and 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
14 

HR 3276 RFS 

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 

4 reactor without a large percentage increase in 

5 the 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 by inserting 

16 the following new item after the item relating to section 

17 111: 

‘‘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 

21 Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, on Department 

22 of Energy actions to support the production in the United 

23 States, without the use of highly enriched uranium, of mo24 lybdenum-99 for medical uses. These reports shall include 

25 the following: 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
15 

HR 3276 RFS 

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 

8 for each project during the year for which sup9 port is provided; 

10 (D) how each project is expected to sup11 port the increased production of molybdenum12 99 for medical uses; 

13 (E) the findings of the evaluation of 

14 projects 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 

17 section 3 of this Act. 

18 (2) A description of actions taken in the pre19 vious year by the Secretary of Energy to ensure the 

20 safe disposition of radioactive waste from used mo21 lybdenum-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 

25 a study of the state of molybdenum-99 production and utiVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:31 Nov 06, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3276.RFS H3276

pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
16 

HR 3276 RFS 

1 lization, to be provided to the Congress not later than 5 

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

3 shall 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; 

19 and 

20 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

21 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

22 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

23 including the extent to which other medical iso24 topes coproduced with molybdenum-99, such as 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
17 

HR 3276 RFS 

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

2 medical purposes. 

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

4 Department of Energy and others to eliminate all 

5 worldwide use of highly enriched uranium in reactor 

6 fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production 

7 facilities. 

8 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act the following definitions apply: 

10 (1) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

11 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

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

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

14 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

15 than 20 percent in the isotope U-235. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 5, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS