Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Implementation Act of 1982
PL 97-351 (H.R.5228), enacted 10/18/1982

PUBLIC LAW 97-351—OCT. 18, 1982 
96 STAT. 1663 
Public Law 97-351 
97th Congress 
An Act 
To amend title 18 of the United States Code to implement the Convention on the 
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SHORT TITLE 
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Convention on the 
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Implementation Act of 
1982". 
Oct. 18, 1982 
[H.R. 5228] 
Convention on 
the Physical 
Protection of 
Nuclear 
Material 
Implementation 
Act of 1982. 
18 u s e 831 note. 
IMPLEMENTATION OF CONVENTION AND PROHIBITION OF RELATED 
OFFENSES 
SEC. 2. (a) Chapter 89 of title 18 of the United States Code is 
amended by inserting after the table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter the following new section: 
*'§ 831. Prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials 
"(a) Whoever, if one of the circumstances described in subsection 
(c) of this section occurs— 
"(1) 
without 
lawful 
authority, 
intentionally 
receives, 
possesses, uses, transfers, alters, disposes of, or disperses any 
nuclear material and— 
"(A) thereby knowingly causes the death of or serious 
bodily injury to any person or substantial damage to prop-
erty; or 
"(B) knows that circumstances exist which are likely to 
cause the death of or serious bodily injury to any person or 
substantial damage to property; 
"(2) with intent to deprive another of nuclear material, 
knowingly— 
"(A) takes and carries away nuclear material of another 
without authority; 
"(B) makes an unauthorized use, disposition, or transfer, 
of nuclear material belonging to another; or 
"(C) uses fraud and thereby obtains nuclear material 
belonging to another; 
"(3) knowingly— 
"(A) uses force; or 
"(B) threatens or places another in fear that any person 
other than the actor will imminently be subject to bodily 
injury; 
and thereby takes nuclear material belonging to another from 
the person or presence of any other; 
"(4) intentionally intimidates any person and thereby obtains 
nuclear material belonging to another; 
18 use 831. 
96 STAT. 1664 
PUBLIC LAW 97-351—OCT. 18, 1982 
"(5) with intent to compel any person, international organiza-
tion, or governmental entity to do or refrain from doing any act, 
knowingly threatens to engage in conduct described in para-
graph (2XA) or (3) of this subsection; 
"(6) knowingly threatens to use nuclear material to cause 
death or serious bodily injury to any person or substantial 
damage to property under circumstances in which the threat 
may reasonably be understood as an expression of serious 
purposes; 
"(7) attempts to commit an offense under paragraph (1), (2), 
(3), or (4) of this subsection; or 
"(8) is a party to a conspiracy of two or more persons to 
commit an offense under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this 
subsection, if any of the parties intentionally engages in any 
conduct in furtherance of such offense; 
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section. 
"(b) The punishment for an offense under— 
"(1) paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (a) of this section 
is— 
"(A) a fine of not more than $250,000; and 
"(B) imprisonment— 
"(i) for any term of years or for life (I) if, while 
committing the offense, the offender knowingly causes 
the death of any person; or (II) if, while committing an 
offense under paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (a) of 
this section, the offender, under circumstances mani-
festing extreme indifference to the life of an individual, 
knowingly engages in any conduct and thereby reck-
lessly causes the death of or serious bodily injury to 
any person; and 
(ii) for not more than 20 years in any other case; and 
"(2) paragraph (8) of subsection (a) of this section is— 
^*(A) a fine of not more than $250,000; and 
"(B) imprisonment— 
"(i) for not more than 20 years if the offense which is 
the object of the conspiracy is punishable under para-
graph (lXB)(i); and 
"(ii) for not more than 10 years in any other case. 
"(c) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) of this section 
are that— 
"(1) the offense is committed in the United States or the 
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United 
States, or the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States 
(as defined in section 101 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 
U.S.C. 1301)); 
"(2) the defendant is a national of the United States, as 
defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101); 
"(3) at the time of the offense the nuclear material is in use, 
storage, or transport, for peaceful purposes, and after the con-
duct required for the offense occurs the defendant is found in 
the United States, even if the conduct required for the offense 
occurs outside the United States; or 
"(4) the conduct required for the offense occurs with respect to 
the carriage of a consignment of nuclear material for peaceful 
purposes by any means of transportation intended to go beyond 
the territory of the state where the shipment originates begin-
PUBLIC LAW 97-351—OCT. 18, 1982 
96 STAT. 1665 
10 u s e 371 et 
seq. 
"Emergency 
situation." 
ning with the departure from a facility of the shipper in that 
state and ending with the arrival at a facility of the receiver 
within the state of ultimate destination and either of such states 
is the United States. 
"(d) The Attorney General may request assistance from the Secre-
tary of Defense under chapter 18 of title 10 in the enforcement of 
this section and the Secretary of Defense may provide such assist-
eince in accordance with chapter 18 of title 10, except that the 
Secretary of Defense may provide such assistance through any 
Department of Defense personnel. 
"(e)(1) The Attorney General may also request assistance from the 
Secretary of Defense under this subsection in the enforcement of 
this section. Notwithstanding section 1385 of this title, the Secretary 18 USC 1385. 
of Defense may, in accordance with other applicable law, provide 
such assistance to the Attorney General if— 
"(A) an emergency situation exists (as jointly determined by 
the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense in their 
discretion); and 
"(B) the provision of such assistance will not adversely affect 
the military preparedness of the United States (as determined 
by the Secretary of Defense in such Secretary's discretion). 
"(3) As used in this subsection, the term 'emergency situation' 
means a circumstance— 
"(A) that poses a serious threat to the interests of the United 
States; and 
"(B) in which— 
"(i) enforcement of the law would be seriously impaired if 
the assistance were not provided; and 
"(ii) civilian law enforcement personnel are not capable 
of enforcing the law. 
"(4) Assistance under this section may include— 
"(A) use of personnel of the Department of Defense to arrest 
persons and conduct searches and seizures with respect to 
violations of this section; and 
"(B) such other activity as is incidental to the enforcement of 
this section, or to the protection of persons or property from 
conduct that violates this section. 
"(5) The Secretary of Defense may require reimbursement as a 
condition of assistance under this section. 
"(6) The Attorney General may delegate the Attorney General's 
function under this subsection only to a Deputy, Associate, or 
Assistant Attorney General. 
"(f) As used in this section— 
"(1) the term 'nuclear material' means material containing 
any— 
"(A) Plutonium with an isotopic concentration not in 
excess of 80 percent plutonium 238; 
"(B) uranium not in the form of ore or ore residue that 
contains the mixture of isotopes as occurring in nature; 
"(C) uranium that contains the isotope 233 or 235 or both 
in such amount that the abundance ratio of the sum of 
those isotopes to the isotope 238 is greater than the ratio of 
the isotope 235 to the isotope 238 occurring in nature; or 
"(D) uranium 233; 
"(2) the term 'international organization' means a public 
international organization designated as such pursuant to sec-
tion 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 
Definitions. 
96 STAT. 1666 
PUBLIC LAW 97-351—OCT. 18, 1982 
U.S.C. 288) or a public organization created pursuant to treaty 
or other agreement under international law as an instrument 
through or by which two or more foreign governments engage 
in some aspect of their conduct of international affairs; 
"(3) the term 'serious bodily injury' means bodily injury 
which involves— 
"(A) a substantial risk of death; 
"(B) extreme physical pain; 
"(C) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or 
"(D) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a 
bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; and 
"(4) the term 'bodily injury' means— 
"(A) a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or disfigurement; 
"(B) physical pain; 
"(C) illness; 
"(D) impairment of a function of a bodily member, organ, 
or mental faculty; or 
"(E) any other injury to the body, no matter how 
temporary.", 
(b) The table of sections for chapter 39 of title 18 of the United 
States Code is amended by striking out the items relating to sections 
831 through 835 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 
"831. Prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials.". 
AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS USED 
IN DEFINING OFFENSES AGAINST INTERNATIONALLY PROTECTED PER-
SONS 
SEC. 3. Section 1116(bX5) of title 18 of the United States Code is 
amended by inserting before the period the following: "or a public 
organization created pursuant to treaty or other agreement under 
international law as an instrument through or by which two or 
more foreign governments engage in some aspect of their conduct of 
international affairs". 
Approved October 18, 1982. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5228 (S. 1446): 
HOUSE REPORT No. 97-624 (Comm. on the Judiciary). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 128 (1982): 
July 19, 20, considered and passed House. 
Sept. 14, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Sept. 28, House concurred in Senate amendment No. 1; disagreed to certain 
amendments; concurred in others with amendments. 
Oct. 1, Senate concurred in House amendments and receded from its disagree-
ments. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 18, No. 42 (1982): 
Oct. 19, Presidential statement.