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“SAFETY FOR AMERICANS FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1209-H1210 on March 9, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SAFETY FOR AMERICANS FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce legislation that I first introduced in the last Congress called the Safety for Americans From Nuclear Weapons Testing Act. Let me tell a brief story that has brought me to introducing this legislation.
From 1951 to 1992, over 1,000 tests were conducted at the Nevada test site. At the time, the government told people in this country that the tests were safe. What we know now is the government lied. In fact, only testing took place when the winds blew the fallout in the least populated direction from the test site, which happened to be southern Utah. These findings were discovered in the 1970s when my father, who was Governor of Utah at the time, received more and more information about the high cancer rates in southern Utah. He got documents declassified at the Pentagon showing that the government knew there was risk with the testing and only did the testing when the fallout was blowing in the least populated direction.
Now, history is pretty clear. We know that the government knew people were at risk. We know the government lied to our citizens, and we know that thousands of people have died of cancer from the fallout from nuclear weapons testing, and yet the last test was in 1992. So why are we talking about this today? We are talking about this because the Federal Government is taking steps to resume nuclear testing.
One thing Members may hear about nuclear testing is the dangerous ones were above ground. Now we do tests underground. The picture next to me took place in 1970. It was an underground nuclear weapons test, the Baneberry Shot it is called. In this picture, we see debris 10,000 feet in the air above the valley floor of the test site.
The DOE's own data shows that underground testing does not contain the fallout. In fact, fallout is emitted into the atmosphere.
This is not just a southern Utah issue or a Western issue. In fact, the National Cancer Institute completed a study looking at concentrations of iodine 131, the isotope that causes thyroid cancer, and looked at how this was dispersed across the country from the testing. And from the Nevada test site going north and east, Members can see it has crossed the country, and even some counties in upstate New York and Vermont received higher concentrations of fallout than some counties close to the test site. So this is indeed an issue of national importance and national scope.
I have introduced legislation that I think is very responsible in terms of ensuring safety before any nuclear weapons testing can take place again. This legislation calls for a full environmental review, an environmental impact statement, before testing can happen so we can establish all of the health and safety risks and how they can be addressed before testing can happen. That has never been done before.
It also calls for setting up an extensive nationwide monitoring system so we can detect any radiation and fallout from the testing. It will not just be a government-run system; we will have a second monitoring system run by independent third parties through our university system to ensure that we understand the truths about what is going on with nuclear testing and exposure to radiation.
I think this is a responsible step. We cannot go down the path again of nuclear weapons testing. If Members do not think that we face the potential for nuclear weapons testing, let me repeat a quote from an article in the February 15, 2005, Salt Lake Tribune. The article discusses Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman's testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Bodman said the administration remains convinced the ``readiness posture'' of the nuclear proving ground must be enhanced. He said, ``We will continue our efforts to maintain the ability to conduct underground nuclear testing and complete the transition to the 18-month readiness posture that is mandated by Congress.''
Two new kinds of nuclear weapons have been discussed for development. If we are going to develop those nuclear weapons, I fear they are going to be tested. The Department of Energy has projected over half a bill dollars of expenditure over the next 5 years for testing of this new type of nuclear weapon.
If we are going to go down that path, which I do not think we ought to go down for a number of reasons, we surely ought to ensure safety if any nuclear weapons are going to be tested. That is why this legislation I have introduced is a responsible approach. Everyone in America ought to want to make sure that we ensure safety, and do not blanket this country with cancer-causing fallout, as happened once before.
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I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.
I would just like to close by mentioning I have supporters of this bill that include the National Association of Atomic Veterans, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the National Association of Radiation Survivors, the Intermountain Pediatric Society, the Utah Medical Association and the Utah State legislature. I encourage my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this bill. I hope we bring it to speedy action on the floor.
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