Safe Storage of Radiological Materials Act of 2005
Key claim: This 2005 Senate bill would have required the Energy Department to name who will handle greater-than-Class C radioactive waste, estimate the cost and timeline for environmental review of a permanent disposal site, and keep recovering and storing sealed radioactive sources that could be a security risk until that site exists.
Abstract
(S979 · 109th Congress) Safe Storage of Radiological Materials Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress: (1) an official notification of the final designation of an entity within the Department of Energy to have the responsibility of completing activities needed to provide a facility for safely disposing of all greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste; (2) a cost-estimate and a proposed schedule to complete an environmental impact statement and record of decision for a permanent disposal for greater-than-Class C radioactive waste; and (3) a plan to ensure the continued recovery and storage of greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive sealed sources that pose a security threat until a permanent disposal facility is available. Latest action (2005-05-09): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4649)
Why this matters
Greater-than-Class C radioactive waste — including sealed sources with potential dirty-bomb utility — still lacks a designated permanent disposal pathway, and this 2005 bill shows Congress was already trying to force DOE planning on the question twenty years before NRC’s current LLW/GTCC rulemaking. The framing (name a responsible party, estimate NEPA cost and timeline, keep collecting orphan sources) previews the same practical bottlenecks — siting, environmental review, and interim custody — that continue to shape today’s disposal debate.