Radioactive Import Deterrence Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 515, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Congressmen GORDON, MATHESON and TERRY. This important legislation will ban the importation of low-level radioactive waste into the United States. This is a bipartisan bill, cosponsored by 80 House Members, including 20 Democratic and 4 Republican members of the full Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 515 was drafted in response to an attempt to bring 20,000 tons of Italian low-level nuclear waste into the United States to be processed in Tennessee and disposed of in Utah. Italy wants to ship their waste to the United States because they have no disposal capabilities of their own. And Italy is by no means the only country in this position.

In fact, the United States is the only nuclear waste-producing country in the world which allows for the importation and disposal of foreign nuclear waste. No other country does, and for good reason! Why should the United States take Italian nuclear waste if they won't take ours? I think the answer is simple: this House will not allow the United States to be the world's nuclear dumping ground.

H.R. 515 will preserve U.S. low-level nuclear waste disposal sites for U.S. low-level nuclear waste. Today, we have a few sites in the country which dispose of our low-level waste. For the moment, this is adequate. However, it is extremely difficult to establish new disposal sites. It is only practical that we carefully manage our existing domestic low-level nuclear waste disposal capacity to ensure that we do not face a crisis in the future. This will be even more critical if new nuclear reactors are built in this country.

Not only would H.R. 515 preserve existing disposal sites for our own waste, but it would maintain the integrity of the Low Level Waste Compact System, and protect the States from being forced to accept foreign nuclear waste.

When Congress established the Low Level Waste Compact System, we did not intend for the compacts to handle foreign waste. We empowered the States to establish sites for common use within the various regions, and specifically allowed them to exclude waste from outside those regions. This bill will responsibly fix a loophole which was never intended to exist.

If we fail to protect the Low Level Waste Compact System, what were supposed to be domestic disposal sites could be turned into global nuclear waste dumps. If that occurs, we could end up in a position where many States are unable--or unwilling--to participate in these compacts at all, leaving domestic companies with nowhere to go to dispose of their radioactive waste. That would not be a good development for the nuclear industry, or for the Nation.

This bill moved through the Energy and Commerce Committee under regular order, and received bipartisan support. It was reported favorably by the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment to the full Committee by a voice vote, and the Energy and Commerce Committee sent the bill to this Floor by a strong vote of 34-12.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation today.

Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 515, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act. This legislation will preserve our ability to regulate the importation of low-level radioactive waste produced in U.S. facilities such as clothing and items that are used in hospitals, research facilities, and nuclear power plants.

These low-level waste products are generated throughout the country, including Nebraska, which has two nuclear power plants and several medical facilities that generate these low-level waste materials that require processing and storage.

This legislation would bar the NRC from issuing licenses authorizing the importation of foreign low-level radioactive waste, unless waived by the President to meet national or international policy goals. It also exempts waste generated by the U.S. government or the military.

The United States is the only nation that allows imports of low-level radioactive waste from other countries. If we do not impose the ban on importation, the United States could easily become the preferred dumping ground for low-level radioactive waste from around the globe. This could be a problem since 36 states that do not have access to a waste compact--like Nebraska--have access to only one disposal site located in the State of Utah. Also, 94 out of 104 commercial nuclear plants in the United States us the same commercial facility as those 36 states to dispose of their low-level waste.

Mr. Speaker, we should not become the low-level radioactive waste disposal dump for the entire world. Other countries that are now using or developing nuclear power and have medical facilities generating this waste should build and operate their own storage facilities and not put American communities at risk for taking care of this radioactive waste.

I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 515.

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