This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Bart Gordon’s bill to ensure robust research and development efforts in the United States nuclear industry.

“Nuclear power will need to remain a component of America’s energy portfolio, whether our goal is energy independence or responsible climate policy,” said Gordon, who chairs the House Committee on Science and Technology. “This bill invests in research to develop nuclear power technologies that are more efficient, more cost effective and more secure.”

Gordon’s bill, the Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 2010, promotes work on Small Modular Reactors, reactors that are significantly smaller and present much lower up-front costs than large traditional nuclear power plants. SMRs have the potential to increase the safety and reliability of nuclear generation while making it more cost effective for nuclear energy providers.  The bill also authorizes research into technologies to prolong the life of the United States' 104 existing commercial reactors, which currently provide 20 percent of the country's power and 70 percent of its emissions-free power. 

This bill also devotes resources to addressing the safety issues associated with storage and disposal of nuclear waste. A new fuel cycle research program at the Department of Energy will take a comprehensive approach to safe waste management, including reprocessing technologies and advanced storage methods. Gordon has been a leader on responsible nuclear waste disposal policy, opposing efforts to process other countries’ nuclear waste in Tennessee and passing the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act to limit imports of foreign waste.

The Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act was based on broad bipartisan efforts from the Committee of Science and Technology.

“When I became the Committee’s chairman in 2007, I wanted it to become the committee of good ideas and consensus,” said Gordon. “This bill is just one of the legislative accomplishments we’ve achieved by working in that spirit.”

In the current congress, Gordon has championed legislative efforts from tornado research to oil spill cleanup technology to national cybersecurity. The House reauthorized Gordon's landmark bill the America COMPETES Act earlier this year to protect America’s economic competitiveness by investing in research and science, technology, engineering and math education.

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a final blow to plans for a shipment of foreign-produced nuclear waste bound for disposal in Utah by way of Tennessee treatment facilities.

EnergySolutions, a nuclear waste management company, first announced plans in 2007 to import 20,000 tons of Italian nuclear waste to a Utah facility. The company has met with resistance from local advocates and lawmakers, including Congressman Bart Gordon, who has led national efforts to prevent foreign-generated radioactive waste from being processed in Tennessee and disposed of on U.S. soil. The Italian shipment would be the largest importation ever of foreign-generated radioactive waste.

“This is great news for those of us who want to protect U.S. nuclear storage capacity for U.S. waste,” Gordon said. “Today’s decision ensures this facility will maintain its critical role as a site for domestic waste.”

The court’s ruling reaffirms that states can decide whether or not to accept nuclear waste from foreign countries, restoring authority to a multi-state entity known as the Northwest Compact. A lower court had ruled EnergySolutions could proceed with its plans over the objections of the state of Utah and the Compact.

Gordon applauded the decision but raised concerns about the need for further action, citing the need for Congress to pass legislation he authored to prevent future imports of nuclear waste. His bill, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, or RID Act, would ban companies from importing nuclear waste altogether, unless the project were deemed of critical national importance by the President. The bill passed the House of Representatives last year with bipartisan support.

“If a country has the capacity to produce large amounts of nuclear waste, it should also have the capacity to treat and store it,” Gordon said. “Foreign-produced waste threatens the capacity we have set aside in this country for waste generated by our own domestic industries—our medical facilities, university research labs and utility companies.  It is critical that Congress protect that capacity.”