I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 730 
To strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Security to develop 
nuclear forensics capabilities to permit attribution of the source of nu-
clear material, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2009 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. ISRAEL) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, 
and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit 
attribution of the source of nuclear material, 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. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Forensics and 
Attribution Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The threat of a nuclear terrorist attack on 
American interests, both domestic and abroad, is one 
of the most serious threats to the national security 
of the United States. In the wake of an attack, attri-
bution of responsibility would be of utmost impor-
tance. Because of the destructive power of a nuclear 
weapon, there could be little forensic evidence except 
the radioactive material in the weapon itself. 
(2) Through advanced nuclear forensics, using 
both existing techniques and those under develop-
ment, it may be possible to identify the source and 
pathway of a weapon or material after it is inter-
dicted or detonated. Though identifying intercepted 
smuggled material is now possible in some cases, 
pre-detonation forensics is a relatively undeveloped 
field. The post-detonation nuclear forensics field is 
also immature, and the challenges are compounded 
by the pressures and time constraints of performing 
forensics after a nuclear or radiological attack. 
(3) A robust and well-known capability to iden-
tify the source of nuclear or radiological material in-
tended for or used in an act of terror could also 
deter prospective proliferators. Furthermore, the 
threat of effective attribution could compel improved 
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security at material storage facilities, preventing the 
unwitting transfer of nuclear or radiological mate-
rials. 
(4)(A) In order to identify special nuclear mate-
rial and other radioactive materials confidently, it is 
necessary to have a robust capability to acquire sam-
ples in a timely manner, analyze and characterize 
samples, and compare samples against known signa-
tures of nuclear and radiological material. 
(B) Many of the radioisotopes produced in the 
detonation of a nuclear device have short half-lives, 
so the timely acquisition of samples is of the utmost 
importance. Over the past several decades, the abil-
ity of the United States to gather atmospheric sam-
ples—often the preferred method of sample acquisi-
tion—has diminished. This ability must be restored 
and modern techniques that could complement or re-
place existing techniques should be pursued. 
(C) The discipline of pre-detonation forensics is 
a relatively undeveloped field. The radiation associ-
ated with a nuclear or radiological device may affect 
traditional forensics techniques in unknown ways. In 
a post-detonation scenario, radiochemistry may pro-
vide the most useful tools for analysis and character-
ization of samples. The number of radiochemistry 
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