I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3921
To protect public health and safety, should the testing of nuclear weapons 
by the United States be resumed. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2004
Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 
and Commerce, and Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect public health and safety, should the testing of 
nuclear weapons by the United States be resumed.
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 ‘‘Safety for Americans 
from Nuclear Weapons Testing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following:
(1) From 1951 until 1992, the United States 
conducted over 900 nuclear weapons tests at the Ne-
vada Test Site. 
(2) Of those tests, 100 exploded above ground 
and approximately one-fourth of those were bigger 
than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. 
(3) The remaining 804 tests were detonated un-
derground, yet many of these tests also released sig-
nificant amounts of radioactive fallout into the at-
mosphere. The Shot Baneberry, detonated in 1970, 
was buried 900 feet below ground but radioactive 
debris erupted 10,000 feet into the air. 
(4) Public health researchers studied the impli-
cations of radiation fallout and weapons testing in 
1961 and discovered significant negative health ef-
fects. 
(5) These research findings were not released 
until 1979. In the meantime, American citizens were 
never warned about the likelihood of contamination 
in areas downwind of the blasts nor were they alert-
ed to adverse health effects associated with radiation 
exposure. 
(6) During the 1980s, public pressure forced 
the Federal Government to address surprisingly high 
rates of cancer and other illnesses among people ex-
posed to radioactive fallout, commonly known as 
‘‘downwinders,’’ which led to the passage of the Ra-
diation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990. 
(7) To date, only one comprehensive radiation 
exposure study of an isotope, iodine-131, has been 
conducted and released. Iodine-131 is only one of 
more than 150 radionuclides released by the tests to 
which the American people were exposed. 
(8) This same radioactive fallout study, con-
ducted by the National Cancer Institute, shows that 
exposure was not limited to residents of Nevada and 
Utah. Extensive radiation exposure has been docu-
mented in all of the contiguous 48 States, with some 
counties in the Midwest and the eastern United 
States receiving more fallout than some areas di-
rectly downwind of the Nevada Test Site. 
(9) The United States has engaged in a mora-
torium on nuclear weapons testing since 1992. How-
ever, the United States might in the future decide 
to resume nuclear weapons testing. 
(10) Before any resumption of nuclear weapons 
testing, the American public deserves much greater 
accountability from the Federal Government with re-
spect to the health and safety aspects of nuclear 
weapons testing.
(11) Therefore, the Federal Government must 
ensure public safety in the event of future nuclear 
weapons tests through a thorough analysis of the en-
vironmental effects of testing, public notification, 
comprehensive and independent test monitoring, and 
extensive health research efforts. 
SEC. 3. TREATMENT UNDER NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 
POLICY ACT OF 1969 OF ACTIONS RELATING 
TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each of the actions described in 
subsection (b) by a Federal agency is deemed to be a 
major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of 
the human environment for which a separate detailed envi-
ronmental impact statement is required under section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 
(b) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions referred to in 
subsection (a) are the following: 
(1) Any action having as a purpose the resump-
tion of nuclear weapon or nuclear explosive device 
tests at the Nevada Test Site. 
(2) Use of a location other than the Nevada 
Test Site for testing of a nuclear weapon or nuclear 
explosive device. 
(c) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—
(d) AVAILABILITY OF STATEMENTS.—The head of a 
Federal agency that carries out an action described in sub-
section (b)—
(1) shall make publicly available the detailed 
statement required for the action under section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, notwithstanding the existence of a classified 
annex for the statement; and 
(2) shall submit to the Congress each classified 
annex to such a statement. 
(e) EXISTING STATEMENTS NOT SUFFICIENT.—Any 
statement prepared before the date of the enactment of 
this Act shall not be treated as the statement required 
by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 with respect to an action described in sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED FOR 
RESUMPTION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST-
ING. 
The United States may not resume testing of nuclear 
weapons or any other nuclear explosive devices unless au-
thorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 5. PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ADVANCE PUBLIC NOTICE OF EACH TEST.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States may not 
carry out a test of a nuclear weapon or any other 
nuclear explosive device unless, for each such test, 
the President first provides, not less than 7 days be-
fore the date of the test, public notice of each of the 
following: 
(A) The fact that such a test is to be car-
ried out. 
(B) The date and approximate time of the 
test. 
(C) The location of the test, including spe-
cific longitude and latitude. 
(2) REVISIONS.—To the extent any information 
provided pursuant to paragraph (1) changes, the 
President shall promptly provide public notice of the 
changes and of any other information necessary to 
comply with paragraph (1). 
(b) PROMPT NOTICE OF EACH RELEASE OF RADI-
ATION BEYOND NTS.—Whenever a test of a nuclear 
weapon by the United States results in a release of radi-
ation beyond the boundaries of the Nevada Test Site, the 
President shall promptly provide public notice of each of 
the following: 
(1) The actual date, time, and location of the 
test.
(2) The fact that such a test has resulted in 
such a release. 
(3) The nature and extent of the release. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The requirements of 
subsections (a) and (b) shall apply notwithstanding any 
provision of law that would otherwise require or permit 
the information to not be made public. 
SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM FOR INDEPENDENT RADIATION 
MONITORING. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 
available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Home-
land Security, acting through the Office for Domestic Pre-
paredness, shall carry out a program under which the Sec-
retary makes grants to institutions of higher education for 
use by those institutions only to acquire radiation detec-
tion equipment and sensors and, for a period of 10 years 
thereafter, to maintain and operate such equipment and 
sensors. 
(b) PREFERENCE.—In making grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give preference to institutions in 
those States that received high levels of fallout from nu-
clear weapons tests, as determined by data collected by 
the National Cancer Institute. 
(c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a 
grant, the institution shall, whenever the United States
carries out a test of a nuclear weapon or other nuclear 
explosive device during the period referred to in subsection 
(a)—
(1) use the equipment and sensors to carry out 
monitoring to determine the nature and amount of 
any radiation from the test that reaches such sen-
sors; and 
(2) ensure that all information on radiation ob-
tained through monitoring under paragraph (1) is 
made available to the public. 
SEC. 7. MONITORING OF RELEASES OF RADIATION INTO 
THE ATMOSPHERE. 
(a) MONITORING BY DOE AND EPA.—Whenever the 
United States carries out a test of a nuclear weapon or 
other nuclear explosive device, monitoring to determine the 
nature and extent of any radiation released into the at-
mosphere shall be carried out by—
(1) the Secretary of Energy, using—
(A) all available monitoring systems of the 
Department of Energy located on or off the test 
site; and 
(B) any other complementary monitoring 
system located off the test site that is made 
available to the Secretary by the head of any 
other element of the Federal Government; and
(2) the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, using one or more monitoring 
systems and in consultation with the head of any 
other element of the Federal Government with a 
monitoring system located off the test site. 
(b) DOE ASSESSMENT OF CONTAINMENT.—For each 
test, the Secretary of Energy shall assess and evaluate the 
containment of the test, both before and after the test. 
(c) EPA MONITORING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The monitoring under sub-
section (a)(2) by the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency shall use a combination of 
temporary ground sensors, permanent ground sen-
sors, and airborne sensors. 
(2) REAL-TIME MONITORING REQUIRED.—Any 
sensors required by paragraph (1) that operate by 
gathering air particulates shall have real-time moni-
toring capabilities. 
(3) PLACEMENT.—The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall determine 
the locations for the sensors required by paragraph 
(1) in consultation with the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
the head of any other element of the Federal Gov-
ernment with a suitable monitoring system located
off the test site, and the head of any other element 
of the Federal Government that the Administrator 
of the Environmental Protection Agency considers 
appropriate. The determinations shall be based on 
proximity to major agricultural zones, population 
centers, public water resources, and areas with high 
levels of fallout from previous tests. 
(d) PUBLIC NOTICE OF MONITORING DATA.—The 
Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency each shall ensure that all information 
on radiation obtained through monitoring under sub-
section (a) is made available to the public on the Internet 
as soon as available, and in any event not more than 24 
hours after such information is collected. 
(e) FINDING OF RELEASE.—If, in monitoring any 
such test, the head of any element of the Federal Govern-
ment determines that a release of radiation beyond the 
boundaries of the NTS has occurred—
(1) the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall immediately submit a report 
to Congress providing notice of that determination; 
(2) the United States shall stop all testing of all 
nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, 
except as otherwise provided in an Act enacted after 
the date of the test; and
(3) the Attorney General shall carry out a pro-
gram, substantially similar to the program under 
section 4 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note), under which compensa-
tion is provided to individuals adversely affected by 
that release of radiation. 
SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY 
OF RADIATION AND HUMAN HEALTH. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health shall make a grant to a university 
or a consortium of universities located in the inter-
mountain west region of the United States to establish, 
maintain, and operate a center described in subsection (b), 
to be known as the National Center for the Study of Radi-
ation and Human Health. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the National Cen-
ter for the Study of Radiation and Human Health shall 
include the following: 
(1) Awarding grants to institutions of higher 
education for research on the relationship between 
radiation and human health, including any health ef-
fects or illness related to exposure to particular ra-
dioactive isotopes.
(2) Studying the relationship between radiation 
and human health, including fallout data collection. 
(3) Coordinating efforts relating to research on 
radiation and human health. 
(4) Collecting, maintaining, and making avail-
able to the public by means of the Internet an ar-
chive of fallout data and human health effects data. 
(c) REPORT.—The National Center for the Study of 
Radiation and Human Health shall submit to Congress, 
and make available to the public, an annual report on the 
activities of the Center. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 9. STUDY OF INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO NUCLEAR 
WEAPONS TESTS. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, acting through the Director of the National Can-
cer Institute, shall—
(1) complete a study to estimate the dose of all 
radionuclides received by the United States popu-
lation as a result of exposure to nuclear weapons 
tests conducted in the United States;
(2) disaggregate the results of such study by 
organ, by radionuclide, and by demographic vari-
ables; 
(3) submit a report to Congress on the results 
of such study; and 
(4) make such results publicly available.
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