I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4873 
To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of certain 
foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot 
Plant. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2021 
Mr. CAWTHORN (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. STEUBE, 
Ms. SALAZAR, and Mr. BUCK) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to 
dispose of certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological 
materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. 
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 ‘‘Foreign Americium 
Disposal and Storage Act’’ or the ‘‘FADS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF 
CERTAIN FISSILE OR RADIOLOGICAL MATE-
RIALS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) While United States-origin americium–241 
(Am–241) sealed sources recovered by the National 
Nuclear Security Administration of the Department 
of Energy may be disposed of at the Waste Isolation 
Pilot Plant (WIPP), Russian-origin Am-241 sources 
may not be. 
(2) Section 2(19) of the WIPP Land With-
drawal Act of 1991 identifies WIPP as the location 
for the disposal of ‘‘radioactive waste materials gen-
erated by atomic energy defense activities’’. 
(3) The Am–241 sources of concern that may 
not currently be eligible for disposal at WIPP have 
the same isotopic properties and are often colocated 
with sources that are eligible for disposal at WIPP. 
(4) Russian-origin sealed sources, once con-
firmed to meet the WIPP Waste Acceptance Cri-
teria, should be eligible for disposal at WIPP. 
(5) The Carlsbad Field Office of the Depart-
ment estimates the volume to be disposed is equiva-
lent to 1 to 2 shipments a year and will have a neg-
ligible impact on WIPP operations. 
(6) The Department, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC), and the international commu-
nity have identified Am–241 as a radioisotope that 
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should be protected due to the possibility of its use 
in a radiological dispersal device. 
(7) As part of its defense nuclear nonprolifera-
tion mission, the National Nuclear Security Admin-
istration recovers thousands of disused sealed 
sources from domestic and international facilities. 
(8) Codifying a disposition pathway for these 
Am–241 sources will allow the National Nuclear Se-
curity Administration to accelerate their removal 
and reduce the availability of material that could be 
used in a dirty bomb. 
(b) CLARIFICATION.—Section 3132(c)(1) of the Ron-
ald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 2569(c)(1)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(N)(i) The collection, storage, and safe 
disposal of the materials described in clause (ii) 
as waste materials generated by atomic energy 
defense activities for the purpose of disposal of 
such materials at WIPP (as defined in section 
2(19) of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land 
Withdrawal Act (Public Law 102–579; 106 
Stat. 4777)). 
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