H.R. 4236

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4236 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4236

To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of 
certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 27, 2025

Mr. Mills (for himself, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Steube) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To clarify the authority of the Department of Energy to dispose of 
certain foreign-origin fissile or radiological materials at the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant.

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 ``Foreign Americium Disposal and 
Storage Act of 2025'' or the ``FADS Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF CERTAIN FISSILE OR 
RADIOLOGICAL MATERIALS.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) While United States-origin americium-241 (Am-241) 
sealed sources recovered by the National Nuclear Security 
Administration of the Department of Energy may be disposed of 
at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Russian-origin Am-
241 sources may not be.
(2) Section 2(19) of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1991 
identifies WIPP as the location for the disposal of 
``radioactive waste materials generated by atomic energy 
defense activities''.
(3) The Am-241 sources of concern that may not currently be 
eligible for disposal at WIPP have the same isotopic properties 
and are often colocated with sources that are eligible for 
disposal at WIPP.
(4) Russian-origin sealed sources, once confirmed to meet 
the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria, should be eligible for 
disposal at WIPP.
(5) The Carlsbad Field Office of the Department estimates 
the volume to be disposed is equivalent to 1 to 2 shipments a 
year and will have a negligible impact on WIPP operations.
(6) The Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC), and the international community have identified Am-241 
as a radioisotope that should be protected due to the 
possibility of its use in a radiological dispersal device.
(7) As part of its defense nuclear nonproliferation 
mission, the National Nuclear Security Administration recovers 
thousands of disused sealed sources from domestic and 
international facilities.
(8) Codifying a disposition pathway for these Am-241 
sources will allow the National Nuclear Security Administration 
to accelerate their removal and reduce the availability of 
material that could be used in a dirty bomb.
(b) Clarification.--Section 3132(c)(1) of the Ronald W. Reagan 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 
2569(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
``(N)(i) The collection, storage, and safe disposal 
of the materials described in clause (ii) as waste 
materials generated by atomic energy defense activities 
for the purpose of disposal of such materials at WIPP 
(as defined in section 2(19) of the Waste Isolation 
Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act (Public Law 102-579; 
106 Stat. 4777)).
``(ii) The materials described in this clause are 
proliferation-attractive fissile materials or 
radiological materials that--
``(I) contain transuranic elements of 
foreign-origin; and
``(II) but for subclause (I), are similar 
to proliferation-attractive fissile materials 
or radiological materials covered by this 
section.''.
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