Ridding the U.S. of Foreign Radioactive Waste (Rep. Lee Terry)

Right now a permit is pending with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste into the United States from Italy. The U.S. is the ONLY country in the world that imports the radioactive waste of other countries and disposes of it. We must end this dangerous practice. It is a direct threat to our country’s public health and safety. I do not want the United States to become the dumping ground of choice for low-level radioactive waste. We must stop other countries from taking the easy way out. As foreign nations increase their exports of this waste, it increases the chances that an accident could occur in transit which would cause ecological and economic damage to our country’s environment and resources.
I, along with Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) have introduced the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act or “The RID Act”. This bill would prohibit the NRC from authorizing the importation of foreign-generated low-level radioactive waste unless the President deems the importation would meet certain national and international goals.
I am hopeful that this important bill will make it to soon to be President Obama’s desk during the next year.