Steel and Metal Consumers Radioactivity Protection Act

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

I would be interested in any professional opinions on the following
proposed legislation.  You may reply to me directly.

Regards,
Susan Gawarecki
loc@icx.net

Steel and Metal Consumers Radioactivity Protection Act (Introduced in
the House)

HR 4566 IH 
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4566

To set standards for radioactive contamination content in both the
domestic and international metals industry, to prohibit the release of
radioactively contaminated scrap metal by the Department of Energy and
nuclear fuel production, utilization, and fabrication facilities, and to
require all nations exporting metals into the United States to certify
and document the amount of radioactive contamination of any scrap metals
being exported into the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 25, 2000

Mr. KLINK (for himself, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr.
COYNE, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. DOYLE, and Mr. BRADY of
Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce 

A BILL

To set standards for radioactive contamination content in both the
domestic and international metals industry, to prohibit the release of
radioactively contaminated scrap metal by the Department of Energy and
nuclear fuel production, utilization, and fabrication facilities, and to
require all nations exporting metals into the United States to certify
and document the amount of radioactive contamination of any scrap metals
being exported into the United States. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Steel and Metal Consumers Radioactivity
Protection Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) The metals industry in the United States is a $100,000,000,000 plus
industry and employs millions of Americans.

(2) Because of their unique features, most metals can be recycled over
and over again which conserves the world's natural resources and
contributes to a healthy environment.

(3) Metal is an essential component of millions of industrial, business,
and consumer products. The presence of radioactive contamination in
steel scrap and other metals resulting from the production, utilization,
and fabrication of nuclear fuel by the Department of Energy and other
facilities poses a risk to public safety, threatens the metals recycling
stream, and can cause millions of dollars worth of damage to facilities
that unknowingly process contaminated metals .

(4) The metals industry in the United States desires to keep radioactive
contamination resulting from the production, utilization, and
fabrication of nuclear fuel by the Department of Energy and other
facilities out of its facilities and products.

(5) Currently there are no approved standards for the unrestricted
release of metals containing radioactive contamination in the United
States. The American public has rejected all previous attempts by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to set a standard for such releases. It is
expected that American consumers will reject products that contain
unknown amounts of radioactive contamination from the Department of
Energy and nuclear fuel production, utilization, and fabrication
facilities. All such releases are now done only with the specific
approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its agreement States.

(6) However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently is deliberating
whether there is a need for a rulemaking to set a specified level of
radioactive material in scrap and other metal that will be allowed in
metals for unrestricted use.

(7) At present, there is a lack of accountability and a lack of
standards regarding radioactive content in metals imported into the
United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has no authority to
regulate these metals at the time of their importation.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

(a) NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION-
(1) STANDARD-
(A) ESTABLISHMENT- Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall establish, through
a rulemaking under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code (relating to
administrative procedures), a standard that controls the free release
of radioactively contaminated scrap metal from the Department of Energy
or nuclear fuel cycle facilities in order to protect the health and
safety of the American consumer.

(B) LIMITATION- Until such standard is established, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission and agreement States shall not take any action to
facilitate, implement, promulgate, or issue a rule or guidance or take
any other administrative action that would allow the free release into
commerce of radioactively contaminated scrap metal.

(2) RELEASE OF RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED EQUIPMENT, DEVICES,
COMMODITIES, AND OTHER MATERIALS- Effective upon the date of enactment
of this Act, all radioactively contaminated equipment, devices,
commodities, and other materials approved for general release to persons
exempt from licensing by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or any of its
agreement States will be released only under the provisions of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and its implementing regulations governing the
release of byproduct and source material (as defined in section 11 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 2014)). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is
prohibited from establishing separate and differing release regulations
and standards for equipment, devices, commodities, and other materials
which are contaminated during the nuclear fuel production, utilization,
and fabrication process from those regulations and standards established
for equipment, devices, commodities, and other materials into which
byproduct and source material have been deliberately inserted for their
beneficial use.

(b) DEPARTMENTS OF DEFENSE AND ENERGY; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY;
OTHER AGENCIES- The Departments of Defense and Energy, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and all other agencies that have oversight or control
over the release of radioactively contaminated metals shall adopt
standards that are no less stringent than the standards established by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under subsection (a). Until such
standards are established, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of
Defense, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and
the heads of all other agencies that have oversight or control over the
release of radioactively contaminated metals shall not take any action
to facilitate, promote, or allow the release into commerce of
radioactively contaminated scrap metal.

(c) UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE- The United States Customs Service
shall, within 12 months after establishment of the standard under
subsection (a), monitor and enforce these standards at the borders of
the United States.

(d) SECRETARY OF STATE- After the standard is established under
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall work with international
standard-writing bodies to adopt standards consistent with the standard
established under subsection (a).

(e) INTERIM CERTIFICATIONS- Before the standard established under
subsection (a) takes effect, all scrap metal imported into the United
States must be accompanied by documentation--

(1) stating the amount of radioactive contamination as certified by the
government of the exporting country; and

(2) validating that the metal does not contain any byproduct, source, or
any special nuclear material.

Such information shall be readily available as part of the documentation
and must accompany the shipment of these products. This requirement will
go into effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act and the
Secretary of Commerce is directed to promulgate a final rule
implementing this requirement by that date.

SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY FOR FALSE DOCUMENTATION.

Any person who knowingly falsifies any documentation required under
section 3(e) or required under any standard in effect under section 3
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $250,000 for each
violation.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.

The Secretary of Commerce shall not later than one year after the date
of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter submit a report to the
Congress which--

(1) lists the number of violations of the standards in effect under
section 3 and the volume of tons of radioactively contaminated metals
involved in each violation reported on; and

(2) for each violation, lists the number of tons of radioactively
contaminated metals involved in each violation reported on, the country
of origin of such metals , and the type of metal involved.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act:

(1) AGREEMENT STATE- The term `agreement State' means a State that--

(A) has entered into an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021); and

(B) has authority to regulate the disposal of low-level waste under such
agreement.

(2) NUCLEAR FUEL PRODUCTION, UTILIZATION, AND FABRICATION FACILITY- The
term `nuclear fuel production, utilization, and fabrication facility'
means--

(A) any nuclear reactor, including those designed or used primarily for
the formation of plutonium or uranium-233;

(B) any facility, equipment, or device designed or used for the
separation of the isotopes of plutonium, except laboratory scale
facilities designed or used for experimental or analytical purposes
only; or

(C) any facility, equipment, or device designed or used for processing
irradiated materials containing special nuclear material or byproduct
material, except--

(i) laboratory scale facilities designed or used for experimental or
analytical purposes; and

(ii) facilities in which processing is conducted pursuant to a license
issued under parts 30 and 70 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations or the equivalent regulations of an agreement State for the
receipt, possession, use, and transfer of irradiated special nuclear
material, which license authorizes the processing of the irradiated
materials on a batch basis for the separation of selected fission
products and limits the process batch to not more than 100 grams of
uranium enriched in the isotope 235 and not more than 15 grams of any
other special nuclear material.

(3) RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED- The term `radioactively contaminated'
means any material containing residual levels of radiological
contamination involving any source material, by-product material, or
special nuclear material as defined in section 11 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014) or any waste derived therefrom.

(4) SCRAP METAL- The term `scrap metal' means ferrous or non-ferrous
metal equipment, vehicles, tools, and other metal items (including metal
pieces, parts, and bits) that are no longer being used for their
original purpose and are destined to be processed as feedstock to
produce new metal materials and products.
-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 S Illinois Ave, Ste 208, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Phone (865) 483-1333; Fax (865) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net 
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