I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 891
To establish a task force to evaluate and make recommendations with respect 
to the security of sealed sources of radioactive materials, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2003
Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. ISRAEL, and Ms. LEE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish a task force to evaluate and make recommenda-
tions with respect to the security of sealed sources of 
radioactive materials, 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 ‘‘Dirty Bomb Prevention 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RADIATION SOURCE PROTECTION. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 170C. Radiation Source Protection.—
‘‘a. TASK FORCE
ON SEALED SOURCE PROTEC-
TION.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab-
lished a task force on sealed source protection. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall be 
headed by the Chairman of the Commission or his 
designee. Its members shall be the following: 
‘‘(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security 
or his designee. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary of Defense or his des-
ignee. 
‘‘(C) The Secretary of Energy or his des-
ignee. 
‘‘(D) The Secretary of Transportation or 
his designee. 
‘‘(E) The Attorney General or his des-
ignee. 
‘‘(F) The Secretary of State or his des-
ignee. 
‘‘(G) The Director of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency or his designee. 
‘‘(H) The Director of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency or his designee.
‘‘(I) The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation or his designee. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The task force, in 
consultation with other State, Federal, and 
local agencies and members of the public, as 
appropriate, shall evaluate and provide rec-
ommendations to ensure the security of sealed 
sources from potential terrorist threats, includ-
ing acts of sabotage, theft, or use of such 
sources in a radiological dispersal device. 
‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS
TO
CONGRESS 
AND
THE
PRESIDENT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, and not less than once every 3 years there-
after, the task force shall submit a report to 
Congress and to the President, in unclassified 
form with a classified annex if necessary, pro-
viding 
recommendations, 
including 
rec-
ommendations for appropriate regulatory and 
legislative changes, for—
‘‘(i) the establishment of or modifica-
tions to a classification system for sealed 
sources 
based 
on 
their 
potential 
attractiveness to terrorists and the extent
of the threat to public health and safety, 
taking into account sealed source radioac-
tivity levels, dispersability, chemical and 
material form, for radiopharmaceuticals, 
the availability of these substances to phy-
sicians and patients whose medical treat-
ment relies on them, and other factors as 
appropriate; 
‘‘(ii) the establishment of or modifica-
tions to a national system for recovery of 
sealed sources that have been lost or sto-
len, taking into account the classification 
system established under clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) the storage of sealed sources not 
currently in use in a safe and secure man-
ner; 
‘‘(iv) the establishment of or modifica-
tion to a national tracking system for 
sealed sources, taking into account the 
classification system established under 
clause (i); 
‘‘(v) the establishment of or modifica-
tions to a national system to impose fees 
to be collected from users of sealed 
sources, to be refunded when the sealed
sources are returned or properly disposed 
of, or any other method to ensure the re-
turn or proper disposal of sealed sources; 
‘‘(vi) any modifications to export con-
trols on sealed sources necessary to ensure 
that foreign recipients of sealed sources 
are able and willing to control United 
States-origin sealed sources in the same 
manner as United States recipients; 
‘‘(vii) whether alternative technologies 
are available that can perform some or all 
of the functions currently performed by de-
vices that employ sealed sources, and if so, 
the establishment of appropriate regula-
tions and incentives for the replacement of 
such devices with alternative technologies 
in order to reduce the number of sealed 
sources in the United States; and 
‘‘(viii) the creation of or modifications 
to procedures for improving the security of 
sealed sources in use, transportation, and 
storage, which may include periodic Com-
mission audits or inspections to ensure 
that sealed sources are properly secured 
and can be fully accounted for, Commis-