§2121. Authority of Commission

(a) Research and development; weapons production; hazardous wastes; transfers of technologies

The Commission is authorized to-

(1) conduct experiments and do research and development work in the military application of atomic energy;

(2) engage in the production of atomic weapons, or atomic weapon parts, except that such activities shall be carried on only to the extent that the express consent and direction of the President of the United States has been obtained, which consent and direction shall be obtained at least once each year;

(3) provide for safe storage, processing, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste (including radioactive waste) resulting from nuclear materials production, weapons production and surveillance programs, and naval nuclear propulsion programs;

(4) carry out research on and development of technologies needed for the effective negotiation and verification of international agreements on control of special nuclear materials and nuclear weapons; and

(5) under applicable law (other than this paragraph) and consistent with other missions of the Department of Energy, make transfers of federally owned or originated technology to State and local governments, private industry, and universities or other nonprofit organizations so that the prospects for commercialization of such technology are enhanced.

(b) Material for Department of Defense use

The President from time to time may direct the Commission (1) to deliver such quantities of special nuclear material or atomic weapons to the Department of Defense for such use as he deems necessary in the interest of national defense, or (2) to authorize the Department of Defense to manufacture, produce, or acquire any atomic weapon or utilization facility for military purposes: Provided, however, That such authorization shall not extend to the production of special nuclear material other than that incidental to the operation of such utilization facilities.

(c) Sale, lease, or loan to other Nations of materials for military applications

The President may authorize the Commission or the Department of Defense, with the assistance of the other, to cooperate with another nation and, notwithstanding the provisions of section 2077, 2092, or 2111 of this title, to transfer by sale, lease, or loan to that nation, in accordance with terms and conditions of a program approved by the President-

(1) nonnuclear parts of atomic weapons provided that such nation has made substantial progress in the development of atomic weapons, and other nonnuclear parts of atomic weapons systems involving Restricted Data provided that such transfer will not contribute significantly to that nation's atomic weapon design, development, or fabrication capability; for the purpose of improving that nation's state of training and operational readiness;

(2) utilization facilities for military applications; and

(3) source, byproduct, or special nuclear material for research on, development of, production of, or use in utilization facilities for military applications; and

(4) source, byproduct, or special nuclear material for research on, development of, or use in atomic weapons: Provided, however, That the transfer of such material to that nation is necessary to improve its atomic weapon design, development, or fabrication capability: And provided further, That such nation has made substantial progress in the development of atomic weapons,

whenever the President determines that the proposed cooperation and each proposed transfer arrangement for the nonnuclear parts of atomic weapons and atomic weapons systems, utilization facilities or source, byproduct, or special nuclear material will promote and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common defense and security, while such other nation is participating with the United States pursuant to an international arrangement by substantial and material contributions to the mutual defense and security: Provided, however, That the cooperation is undertaken pursuant to an agreement entered into in accordance with section 2153 of this title: And provided further, That if an agreement for cooperation arranged pursuant to this subsection provides for transfer of utilization facilities for military applications the Commission, or the Department of Defense with respect to cooperation it has been authorized to undertake, may authorize any person to transfer such utilization facilities for military applications in accordance with the terms and conditions of this subsection and of the agreement for cooperation.

(Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, §91, as added Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, §1, 68 Stat. 936 ; amended July 2, 1958, Pub. L. 85–479, §1, 72 Stat. 276 ; Nov. 29, 1989, Pub. L. 101–189, div. C, title XXXI, §3157, 103 Stat. 1684 ; renumbered title I, Oct. 24, 1992, Pub. L. 102–486, title IX, §902(a)(8), 106 Stat. 2944 .)

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 1806(a) of this title, prior to the general amendment and renumbering of act Aug. 1, 1946, by act Aug. 30, 1954.

Amendments

1989-Subsec. (a)(3) to (5). Pub. L. 101–189 added pars. (3) to (5).

1958-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 85–479 added subsec. (c).

Transfer of Functions

Atomic Energy Commission abolished and functions transferred by sections 5814 and 5841 of this title. See also Transfer of Functions notes set out under those sections.

Delegation of Functions

Authority vested in President by subsec. (c) of this section delegated to Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy, see section 2(a)(1) of Ex. Ord. No. 10841, as amended, set out as a note under section 2153 of this title.

Report on Waste Streams Generated by Nuclear Weapons Production Cycle

Pub. L. 103–337, div. C, title XXXI, §3154, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3091 , provided that:

"(a) Report.-Not later than March 31, 1996, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress a report that contains a description of all waste streams generated before 1992 during each step of the complete cycle of production and disposition of nuclear weapon components by the Department of Energy. The description for each such step shall be based on a unit of analysis that is appropriate for that step. The report shall include an estimate of the volume of waste generated per unit of analysis and an analysis of the characteristics of each waste stream.

"(b) Definitions.-In this section:

"(1) The term 'waste stream' means waste materials the storage, treatment, or disposition of which is regulated under Federal law, except that such term does not include usable source materials, usable byproduct materials, and usable special nuclear materials.

"(2) The terms 'byproduct material', 'source material', and 'special nuclear material' have the meaning given such terms in section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014)."

Prohibition on Research and Development of Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons

Pub. L. 103–160, div. C, title XXXI, §3136, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1946 , provided that:

"(a) United States Policy.-It shall be the policy of the United States not to conduct research and development which could lead to the production by the United States of a new low-yield nuclear weapon, including a precision low-yield warhead.

"(b) Limitation.-The Secretary of Energy may not conduct, or provide for the conduct of, research and development which could lead to the production by the United States of a low-yield nuclear weapon which, as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 30, 1993], has not entered production.

"(c) Effect on Other Research and Development.-Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary of Energy from conducting, or providing for the conduct of, research and development necessary-

"(1) to design a testing device that has a yield of less than five kilotons;

"(2) to modify an existing weapon for the purpose of addressing safety and reliability concerns; or

"(3) to address proliferation concerns.

"(d) Definition.-In this section, the term 'low-yield nuclear weapon' means a nuclear weapon that has a yield of less than five kilotons."

Stockpile Stewardship Program

Pub. L. 103–160, div. C, title XXXI, §3138, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1946 , provided that:

"(a) Establishment.-The Secretary of Energy shall establish a stewardship program to ensure the preservation of the core intellectual and technical competencies of the United States in nuclear weapons, including weapons design, system integration, manufacturing, security, use control, reliability assessment, and certification.

"(b) Program Elements.-The program shall include the following:

"(1) An increased level of effort for advanced computational capabilities to enhance the simulation and modeling capabilities of the United States with respect to the detonation of nuclear weapons.

"(2) An increased level of effort for above-ground experimental programs, such as hydrotesting, high-energy lasers, inertial confinement fusion, plasma physics, and materials research.

"(3) Support for new facilities construction projects that contribute to the experimental capabilities of the United States, such as an advanced hydrodynamics facility, the National Ignition Facility, and other facilities for above-ground experiments to assess nuclear weapons effects.

"(c) Authorization of Appropriations.-Of funds authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 1994 for weapons activities, $157,400,000 shall be available for the stewardship program established under subsection (a).

"(d) Report.-Each year, at the same time the President submits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the President shall submit to the Congress a report covering the most recently completed calendar year which sets forth-

"(1) any concerns with respect to the safety, security, effectiveness, or reliability of existing United States nuclear weapons raised by the Stockpile Surveillance Program of the Department of Energy, and the calculations and experiments performed by Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, or Los Alamos National Laboratory; and

"(2) if such concerns have been raised, the President's evaluation of each concern and a report on what actions are being or will be taken to address that concern."

Limitations on United States Nuclear Weapons Testing

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title II, §261, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1608 , provided that:

"(a) Limitation on Obligation of Funds.-The Secretary of Defense may not obligate funds in preparation for any activity of the Department of Defense, including the so-called 'Mighty Uncle' test, to study the effects of a nuclear weapon explosion through underground nuclear weapons testing unless that test is permitted in accordance with the provisions of section 507 of Public Law 102–377 [set out below] (106 Stat. 1343).

"(b) Certain Actions Not Prohibited.-Subsection (a) does not preclude the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, from-

"(1) proceeding with underground nuclear test tunnel deactivation and environmental cleanup; or

"(2) expending funds for infrastructure activities not covered by the limitation in subsection (a).

"(c) Funding.-Of the funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 201 [107 Stat. 1583] for Defense-wide activities, not more than $38,000,000 may be used for activities described in subsection (b)."

Pub. L. 103–160, div. C, title XXXI, §3137, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1946 , provided that:

"(a) In General.-Of the funds authorized to be appropriated under section 3101(a)(2) [107 Stat. 1936] for the Department of Energy for fiscal year 1994 for weapons testing, $211,326,000 shall be available for infrastructure maintenance at the Nevada Test Site, and for maintaining the technical capability to resume underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site.

"(b) Atmospheric Testing of Nuclear Weapons.-None of the funds appropriated pursuant to this Act or any other Act for any fiscal year may be available to maintain the capability of the United States to conduct atmospheric testing of a nuclear weapon."

Pub. L. 102–377, title V, §507, Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1343 , provided that:

"(a) Hereafter, funds made available by this Act or any other Act for fiscal year 1993 or for any other fiscal year may be available for conducting a test of a nuclear explosive device only if the conduct of that test is permitted in accordance with the provisions of this section.

"(b) No underground test of a nuclear weapon may be conducted by the United States after September 30, 1992, and before July 1, 1993.

"(c) On and after July 1, 1993, and before January 1, 1997, an underground test of a nuclear weapon may be conducted by the United States-

"(1) only if-

"(A) the President has submitted the annual report required under subsection (d);

"(B) 90 days have elapsed after the submittal of that report in accordance with that subsection; and

"(C) Congress has not agreed to a joint resolution described in subsection (d)(3) within that 90-day period; and

"(2) only if the test is conducted during the period covered by the report.

"(d)(1) Not later than March 1, of each year beginning after 1992, the President shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives [Committee on Armed Services of House of Representatives now Committee on National Security], in classified and unclassified forms, a report containing the following matters:

"(A) A schedule for resumption of the Nuclear Testing Talks with Russia.

"(B) A plan for achieving a multilateral comprehensive ban on the testing of nuclear weapons on or before September 30, 1996.

"(C) An assessment of the number and type of nuclear warheads that will remain in the United States stockpile of active nuclear weapons on September 30, 1996.

"(D) For each fiscal year after fiscal year 1992, an assessment of the number and type of nuclear warheads that will remain in the United States stockpile of nuclear weapons and that-

"(i) will not be in the United States stockpile of active nuclear weapons;

"(ii) will remain under the control of the Department of Defense; and

"(iii) will not be transferred to the Department of Energy for dismantlement.

"(E) A description of the safety features of each warhead that is covered by an assessment referred to in subparagraph (C) or (D).

"(F) A plan for installing one or more modern safety features in each warhead identified in the assessment referred to in subparagraph (C), as determined after an analysis of the costs and benefits of installing such feature or features in the warhead, should have one or more of such features.

"(G) An assessment of the number and type of nuclear weapons tests, not to exceed 5 tests in any period covered by an annual report under this paragraph and a total of 15 tests in the 4-fiscal year period beginning with fiscal year 1993, that are necessary in order to ensure the safety of each nuclear warhead in which one or more modern safety features are installed pursuant to the plan referred to in subparagraph (F).

"(H) A schedule, in accordance with subparagraph (G), for conducting at the Nevada test site, each of the tests enumerated in the assessment pursuant to subparagraph (G).

"(2) The first annual report shall cover the period beginning on the date on which a resumption of testing of nuclear weapons is permitted under subsection (c) and ending on September 30, 1994. Each annual report thereafter shall cover the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the report is submitted.

"(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), 'joint resolution' means only a joint resolution introduced after the date on which the Committees referred to in that paragraph receive the report required by that paragraph the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: 'The Congress disapproves the report of the President on nuclear weapons testing, dated          .' (the blank space being appropriately filled in).

"(4) No report is required under this subsection after 1996.

"(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), during a period covered by an annual report submitted pursuant to subsection (d), nuclear weapons may be tested only as follows:

"(A) Only those nuclear explosive devices in which modern safety features have been installed pursuant to the plan referred to in subsection (d)(1)(F) may be tested.

"(B) Only the number and types of tests specified in the report pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(G) may be conducted.

"(2)(A) One test of the reliability of a nuclear weapon other than one referred to in paragraph (1)(A) may be conducted during any period covered by an annual report, but only if-

"(i) within the first 60 days after the beginning of that period, the President certifies to Congress that it is vital to the national security interests of the United States to test the reliability of such a nuclear weapon; and

"(ii) within the 60-day period beginning on the date that Congress receives the certification, Congress does not agree to a joint resolution described in subparagraph (B).

"(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), 'joint resolution' means only a joint resolution introduced after the date on which the Congress receives the certification referred to in that subparagraph the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: 'The Congress disapproves the testing of a nuclear weapon covered by the certification of the President dated          .' (the blank space being appropriately filled in).

"(3) The President may authorize the United Kingdom to conduct in the United States, within a period covered by an annual report, one test of a nuclear weapon if the President determines that it is in the national interests of the United States to do so. Such a test shall be considered as one of the tests within the maximum number of tests that the United States is permitted to conduct during that period under paragraph (1)(B).

"(f) No underground test of nuclear weapons may be conducted by the United States after September 30, 1996, unless a foreign state conducts a nuclear test after this date, at which time the prohibition on United States nuclear testing is lifted.

"(g) In the computation of the 90-day period referred to in subsection (c)(1) and the 60-day period referred to in subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii), the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain shall be excluded.

"(h) In this section, the term 'modern safety feature' means any of the following features:

"(1) An insensitive high explosive (IHE).

"(2) Fire resistant pits (FRP).

"(3) An enhanced detonation safety (ENDS) system."

Nuclear Test Ban Readiness Program

Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title XIV, §1436, Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 2075 , provided that:

"(a) Findings.-The Congress makes the following findings:

"(1) On September 17, 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union announced that they would resume full-scale, stage-by-stage negotiations on issues relating to nuclear testing, including further intermediate limitations on nuclear testing leading to the ultimate objective of a comprehensive nuclear test ban.

"(2) It was agreed that the first step in these negotiations would be to reach agreement on verification measures that will make possible the ratification of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974 and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty of 1976.

"(3) To achieve the agreement on verification measures, the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed to design and conduct a Joint Verification Experiment at the test sites of each country during the summer of 1988.

"(4) At the Moscow summit in May 1988, President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev reaffirmed their commitment to negotiations on 'effective verification measures which will make it possible to ratify the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974 and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty of 1976, and proceed to negotiating further intermediate limitations on nuclear testing leading to the ultimate objective of the complete cessation of nuclear testing as part of an effective disarmament process'.

"(b) Establishment of Program.-The Secretary of Energy shall establish and support a program to assure that the United States is in a position to maintain the reliability, safety, and continued deterrent effect of its stockpile of existing nuclear weapons designs in the event that a low-threshold or comprehensive ban on nuclear explosives testing is negotiated and ratified within the framework agreed to by the United States and the Soviet Union.

"(c) Purposes of Program.-The purposes of the program under subsection (b) shall be the following:

"(1) To assure that the United States maintains a vigorous program of stockpile inspection and non-explosive testing so that, if a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban is entered into, the United States remains able to detect and identify potential problems in stockpile reliability and safety in existing designs of nuclear weapons.

"(2) To assure that the specific materials, components, processes, and personnel needed for the remanufacture of existing nuclear weapons or the substitution of alternative nuclear warheads are available to support such remanufacture or substitution if such action becomes necessary in order to satisfy reliability and safety requirements under a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban agreement.

"(3) To assure that a vigorous program of research in areas related to nuclear weapons science and engineering is supported so that, if a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban agreement is entered into, the United States is able to maintain a base of technical knowledge about nuclear weapons design and nuclear weapons effects.

"(d) Conduct of Program.-The Secretary of Energy shall carry out the program provided for in subsection (b). The program shall be carried out with the participation of representatives of the Department of Defense, the nuclear weapons production facilities, and the national nuclear weapons laboratories.

"(e) Annual Report.-The Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress each year an unclassified report (with a classified annex as necessary) that describes the progress made to the date of the report in achieving the purposes of the program required to be established under subsection (b)."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 2014, 2122, 2131, 2140, 2153, 2153a, 2153f, 2159, 2160, 2286d, 2297b–2 of this title.