I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1630 
To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include the Territory 
of Guam in the list of affected areas with respect to which claims 
relating to atmospheric nuclear testing shall be allowed, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2009 
Ms. BORDALLO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to in-
clude the Territory of Guam in the list of affected areas 
with respect to which claims relating to atmospheric nu-
clear testing shall be allowed, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF AFFECTED AREA TO INCLUDE 
ADDITIONAL DOWNWIND AREA EXPOSED TO 
IONIZING RADIATION (NUCLEAR FALLOUT). 
Section 4(b)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Com-
pensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) the Territory of Guam; and’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States conducted testing of 
atomic nuclear weapons on Enewetak and Bikini 
Atolls in the Marshall Islands, from 1946 to 1962. 
A total of sixty-seven (67) atomic and thermonuclear 
bombs were detonated which resulted in fallout 
across a wide area in the Pacific. 
(2) The Atomic Energy Commission detonated 
sixty-seven (67) nuclear devices with a total yield of 
one hundred eight thousand four hundred ninety-two 
point two (108,492.2) kilotons in or around the 
Marshall Islands. 
(3) There were at least ten (10) detonations 
that had a yield necessary of five (5) to ten (10) 
megatons to project material from the center of the 
explosion to the height of between twelve (12) to 
fifty-five (55) miles into the jet-stream. 
(4) On October 31, 1952 (GMT), the first true 
H-Bomb, Ivy Mike was detonated at Elugelab 
(‘‘Flora’’) Island, Enewetak Atoll. The 10.4 megaton 
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device was the fourth largest device ever tested by 
the United States. The mushroom cloud climbed to 
57,000 feet in only 90 seconds entering the strato-
sphere. One minute later it reached 108,000 feet, 
eventually stabilizing at a ceiling of 120,000 feet. 
Half an hour after the test, the mushroom stretched 
sixty (60) miles across, with the base of the mush-
room head joining the stem at 45,000 feet. 
(5) On April 27, 2005, the National Research 
Council of the National Academies submitted to 
Congress a report on the Assessment of the Sci-
entific Information for the Radiation Exposure 
Screening and Education Program. 
(6) The National Research Council stated in 
their report on ‘‘ADDITIONAL POPULATIONS 
ENVIRONMENTALLY AT RISK FOR RADI-
ATION 
EXPOSURE’’, 
Nuclear 
Testing: 
Downwinders and Onsite Participants, that the 
Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for 
the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education 
Program reviewed the locations where nuclear-weap-
ons tests were performed, and that ‘‘The current 
RECA downwinder population is concentrated in the 
area around the NTS, and the 1997 NCI 131 I re-
port (NCI, 1997) dealt with emissions from the 
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NTS. In RECA, Congress found that fallout from 
atmospheric nuclear tests exposed people to radi-
ation that is presumed to have caused an excess of 
cancer and that this risk was borne by these people 
to serve the national security interests of the United 
States. The United States has conducted nuclear- 
weapons tests in areas other than NTS, and popu-
lations exposed to fallout from these tests may also 
be considered as possible candidates for RECA com-
pensation, if Congress so chooses. The tests in ques-
tion include the Trinity test near Alamogordo, New 
Mexico, and the Pacific tests. Onsite participants in 
the tests are already included under RECA, but 
RECA coverage may be extended to the downwinder 
populations in those areas. Over the last several 
years, there has been a concern about the health ef-
fects associated with radioactive fallout that reached 
Guam during the testing of nuclear weapons in Mi-
cronesia. The Pacific Association for Radiation Sur-
vivors was formed. In 2002, a blue ribbon panel, au-
thorized by the Government of Guam, submitted the 
Committee Action Report on Radioactive Contami-
nation in Guam between 1946 and 1958.’’. 
(7) The National Research Council’s assess-
ment and recommendation for Guam is stated on 
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page 200 of the ‘‘Assessment of the Scientific Infor-
mation for the Radiation Exposure Screening and 
Education Program’’, which reads: ‘‘Conclusions. As 
a result of its analysis, the committee concludes that 
Guam did receive measurable fallout from atmos-
pheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. 
Residents of Guam during that period should be eli-
gible for compensation under RECA in a way similar 
to that of persons considered to be downwinders.’’. 
(8) In 1974, the Laboratory of Radiation Ecol-
ogy began a program to determine the radionuclides 
found in food, plants, animals, and soils of the Cen-
tral Pacific. As part of this program, the study was 
undertaken to determine the radionuclides found in 
common foods and soils in Guam. All samples were 
analyzed for gamma-emitting radionuclides while 
some were also analyzed for Strontium 90 or Pluto-
nium 239,240. Cesium 137,210 PB and 235 U 
were also on the soil on Guam. ‘‘Plants; Most values 
of 137 Cs were less than 1 pCi/g, but a value of 
18. pCi/g was measured in the edible portion of a 
pandanus fruit from Guam. The inedible portion of 
this fruit also had a high 137 Cs value, 16 pCi/g.’’. 
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SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY TO FILE A CLAIM BASED ON PRESENCE 
DURING PERIOD OF TESTING. 
(a) CLAIMS
RELATING
TO
LEUKEMIA.—Section 
4(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended— 
(1) in subclauses (I) and (II), by inserting ‘‘de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of sub-
section (b)(1)’’ after ‘‘affected area’’; 
(2) in subclause (II)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘in the’’ before ‘‘affected 
area’’ and inserting ‘‘in an’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(3) by redesignating subclause (III) as sub-
clause (V); and 
(4) by inserting after subclause (II) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(III) was physically present in 
the affected area described in sub-
section (b)(1)(D) for a period of at 
least 1 year during the period begin-
ning on June 30, 1946, and ending on 
November 30, 1974; 
‘‘(IV) was physically present in 
the affected area described in sub-
section (b)(1)(D) for the period begin-
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ning on June 30, 1946, and ending on 
November 30, 1974;’’. 
(b) CLAIMS RELATING TO SPECIFIED DISEASES.— 
Section 4(a)(2) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘in the’’ before ‘‘affected 
area’’ and inserting ‘‘in an’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘described in subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(1)’’ 
after ‘‘affected area’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (E); and 
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) was physically present in the affected 
area described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for a pe-
riod of at least 2 years during the period begin-
ning on June 30, 1946, and ending on Novem-
ber 30, 1974. 
‘‘(D) was physically present in the affected 
area described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for the 
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period beginning on June 30, 1946, and ending 
on November 30, 1974.’’. 
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO RECA. 
(a) ADDITIONAL RELIEF.—Section 4 of the Radi-
ation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL RELIEF.— 
‘‘(1) OTHER AREAS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who re-
sided in the Territory of Guam not covered 
under subsection (b)(1)(D) during the time pe-
riod described in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may 
apply for compensation under this Act. 
‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—The National Cancer 
Institute, in collaboration with the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, shall evaluate 
whether an individual submitting an application 
under subparagraph (A) is eligible for com-
pensation under this Act on a case-by-case 
basis. 
‘‘(2) OTHER EXPENSES.—An individual who is 
eligible for compensation under subsection (b)(1)(D) 
or paragraph (1) shall also receive compensation 
from the Fund for the costs of screening, complica-
tions of screening, follow-up referrals, work-up diag-
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nosis, and treatment related to the specific disease 
contracted by the individual.’’. 
SEC. 5. EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
The Health Resources and Services Administration 
shall conduct an enhanced program of education and com-
munication about the health risks posed by ionizing radi-
ation exposure from fallout from the United States nu-
clear-weapons testing. 
Æ 
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