Gordon’s Fight Against Foreign Nuclear Waste Moves Through Congress

October 8, 2009, WASHINGTON, D.C. – A congressional hearing has been set for next Friday (Oct. 16) on Congressman Bart Gordon’s bill to ban the importation of foreign-generated nuclear waste.  The legislation would prevent foreign radioactive waste from being processed in Tennessee and disposed of in the United States.

“We are the only nation in the world that imports and disposes low-level radioactive waste from other countries,” said Congressman Gordon.  “Unless we act, the United States is destined to become the world’s dumping ground for foreign nuclear waste.  If that happens, U.S. industries could find themselves without adequate space to dispose of domestically-produced waste.”

Currently, a permit is pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of Italian low-level radioactive waste for disposal in the United States, which would be the largest importation ever of foreign-generated radioactive waste.  If approved, the 20,000 tons of nuclear waste would be transported to Tennessee for processing and later disposed of in Utah.

“The bipartisan legislation I’ve introduced would prevent the waste from coming in,” added Gordon.  “This hearing will provide another opportunity to shed light on the importance of this issue.  I look forward to generating more support for the bill as we move it through the committee process and to the House floor for a vote.”

Gordon’s bill, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, or the “RID Act,” would prohibit the NRC from authorizing the importation of foreign-generated low-level radioactive waste for disposal in the United States unless the President deems the importation would meet critical national or international goals.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment will consider Gordon’s legislation next Friday.  After the hearing, the bill is expected to move through the committee process and come to the House floor for a full vote.

“I have long fought to keep nuclear waste from coming into Tennessee,” said Gordon, “and I will continue to fight against the importation and disposal of foreign radioactive waste.  If a country is going to generate radioactive waste, whether it is produced by researchers, hospitals, or nuclear power plants, it has a responsibility to also build the necessary disposal sites.”

A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Lamar Alexander.