Markey, Clinton propose legislation to better control nuclear material shipments
Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced legislation which they say will help the country better oversee the international export and import of nuclear materials and help prevent terrorist from constructing dirty bombs.
The lawmakers said the federal government’s lead nuclear control agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has failed adequately track these materials.
“FedEx does a better job at tracking a pair of socks ordered from a catalog than the NRC does at tracking radioactive materials,” Markey said in a May 26 statement at the introduction of the new Dirty Bomb Prevention Act legislation. “We need to address this dangerous lack of control over these harmful materials and pass this legislation before the next tragedy happens.”
The lawmakers pointed out that in the past five years, the NRC reported that of more than 1,500 radioactive sources, which have been either reported lost or stolen in the United States, less than half have been found. The agency admitted that it stopped tracking radioactive sources by serial number in 1984.
There is also concern that nuclear materials are becoming more accessible on the black market and through the Internet.
The lawmakers criticized U.S. Customs and Border Protection for failing to properly screen cargo entering the United States for radioactive materials. Recently, a package imported from Russia by Halliburton Energy Services went missing for several months before Halliburton reported its loss to the NRC. The package was later located in a warehouse at Chelsea, Mass., after having been mistakenly shipped there.
The new Dirty Bomb Prevention Act will attempt to close several security gaps:
*Before an export, import or domestic sale of a radiation source is allowed, the regulatory agency in the recipient country is required to certify that the importer is authorized to possess it, and that it will be kept safe and secure. For exports from the United States, there must also be a plan in place for the exporter to re-acquire the radiation source when it is no longer needed by the recipient.
*Within six months of enactment, the NRC must develop a “cradle-to-grave” tracking system recommended by many security experts to ensure that it will be aware of where all radiation sources within the United States, are located, and promptly informed whenever a radiation source changes geographic location. The NRC currently views the provision of this information to be voluntary, and does not expect to have a tracking system in place until 2007.
*The Energy Department must report to Congress regarding the status of nuclear fuel and radiation sources exported by the federal government to other countries, must re-acquire these materials with priority given to those that are viewed as being least secure, and funds are authorized at levels of $80 million per year for the next five years for these activities.
The new Dirty Bomb Prevention Act builds on bills that Rep. Markey and Sen. Clinton introduced in the 107th and 108th Congresses. The lawmakers said they will work in both chambers of Congress to enact the legislation this year.