PRINTER'S NO. 2109
No. 128 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, DeWEESE, BELARDI, STISH, LUCYK, McCALL,
SURRA, YANDRISEVITS, VEON, KUKOVICH, FEE, VITALI, COY,
JOSEPHS, MELIO, COLAIZZO, STABACK, BATTISTO, RUDY, STEELMAN,
TRELLO, KASUNIC, CAPPABIANCA, FREEMAN, MIHALICH, PESCI,
GORDNER, BAKER, ROONEY, KING, HUTCHINSON, MASLAND, FICHTER,
NYCE, FLEAGLE, FAIRCHILD, STERN, LEDERER, CLARK, HESS AND
RUBLEY, JUNE 14, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JUNE 14, 1993
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing the Congress of the United States to protect the
2 environmental, economic and health and safety interests of
3 the people of Pennsylvania in regard to low-level radioactive
4 waste.
5 WHEREAS, The United States Congress, by enacting the Low-
6 Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (Public Law 96-573, 42 U.S.C.
7 § 2021b et seq.) has encouraged the use of interstate compacts
8 to provide for the establishment and operation of facilities for
9 the regional management of low-level radioactive waste; and
10 WHEREAS, Under section 4(a)(1)(A) of the Low-Level
11 Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. § 2021c(a)(1)(A)), each
12 state is responsible for providing for the capacity for disposal
13 of low-level radioactive waste generated within its borders; and
14 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth and the states of Maryland, West
15 Virginia and Delaware have entered into the act of December 22,
16 1985 (P.L.539, No.120), referred to as the Appalachian States
1 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Law; and
2 WHEREAS, The General Assembly in order to isolate low-level
3 radioactive wastes for the full hazardous life of the waste has
4 enacted the act of February 9, 1988 (P.L.31, No.12), known as
5 the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Act; and
6 WHEREAS, In section 103 of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste
7 Disposal Act, low-level radioactive waste is technically defined
8 as: "Radioactive waste that:
9 (1) is not high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear
10 fuel, or by-product material as defined in section 11(e)(2)
11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 922, 42 U.S.C. §
12 2014(e)(2)), waste generated as a result of atomic energy
13 defense activities of the Federal Government, and waste for
14 which the Federal Government is responsible under section
15 3(b)(1) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments
16 Act of 1985; and
17 (2) is classified by the Federal Government as low-level
18 waste, consistent with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy
19 Amendments Act of 1985; or
20 (3) contains naturally occurring or accelerator-produced
21 radioactive material, which is not excluded by paragraph (1)
22 or (2)."; and
23 WHEREAS, Low-level radioactive waste is nontechnically
24 defined as being made up of several classes of waste commonly
25 called "Class A," "Class B," and Class C"; and
26 WHEREAS, Low-level radioactive waste in which the
27 concentration of radionuclides exceeds 0.1 times the value in
28 Table 1 of Title 10 CFR 61.55 is known as "Class C" low-level
29 radioactive waste; and
30 WHEREAS, "Class C" waste is the most dangerous of the low-
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1 level radioactive wastes; and
2 WHEREAS, According to the Pennsylvania Department of
3 Environmental Resources, "Class C" low-level radioactive waste
4 as generated within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania composes
5 less than 1% by volume of all low-level radioactive waste
6 generated within this Commonwealth; and
7 WHEREAS, "Class C" low-level radioactive waste as generated
8 within the Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste
9 Compact composes less than 1% by volume of the entire volume of
10 low-level radioactive waste generated in all the Appalachian
11 States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact states; and
12 WHEREAS, According to the Pennsylvania Department of
13 Environmental Resources, "Class C" low-level radioactive waste
14 as generated within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania composes
15 more than 90% by concentration of radionuclide of all low-level
16 radioactive waste generated within this Commonwealth; and
17 WHEREAS, "Class C" low-level radioactive waste as generated
18 within the Compact States composes more than 90% by
19 concentration of radionuclide of all the low-level radioactive
20 waste generated in all the Appalachian Compact States; and
21 WHEREAS, There is concern by the citizens of the Commonwealth
22 of Pennsylvania that "Class C" radioactive waste should not be
23 disposed of at the future Appalachian Compact low-level
24 radioactive waste site; and
25 WHEREAS, It is believed that it would facilitate the siting
26 of the Appalachian Compact site if "Class C" wastes would be
27 prohibited at the new site; therefore be it
28 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives memorialize the
29 Congress of the United States to:
30 (1) amend the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act to
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1 redefine low-level radioactive waste as not including "Class
2 C" waste;
3 (2) prohibit "Class C" radioactive wastes from being
4 disposed of at new low-level radioactive waste sites;
5 (3) conduct hearings, take testimony and make any
6 investigations necessary to accomplish the redefinition of
7 low-level radioactive waste as not including "Class C";
8 (4) facilitate the siting of new low-level radioactive
9 waste sites throughout the United States by removing "Class
10 C" from the definition of low-level nuclear waste because of
11 the high concentration of radionuclides and low proportion of
12 overall volume of low-level nuclear waste in "Class C"; and
13 (5) thus protect the environmental, economic and health
14 and safety interests of the citizens of the Commonwealth of
15 Pennsylvania, citizens of the Appalachian Compact States and
16 citizens of the United States;
17 and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
19 the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
20 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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