choose to affirm the Secretary's decision not to implement the Board's recommendation and supply the specific facts and findings which support this decision. Thus, even where the Board and Secretary disagree, a final decision on the matter would be reached within 150 days.

Normally, the Board will not require legal processes to obtain information necessary to its evaluations. However, section 103 subsection (i) provides the Board with the necessary powers to conduct hearings, including subpoena power to obtain witness testimony. Contumacy of Board process will be enforced in the appropriate United States federal district courts. These procedures will only be necessary should the DOE Secretary choose not to cooperate informally with the Board. These powers may also be necessary in investigations of events, where liability questions can be expected to limit DOE or contractor cooperation with the Board. It is not expected that the Board will normally conduct its business in such a formal, quasi-adjudicatory manner.

Section 103 subsection (j) sets forth the definition of the term "nuclear facility", which includes all DOE production and utilization facilities but excludes naval nuclear reactors governed by Executive Order 12344.

Section 103 subsection (k) provides an initial period of six years for the Board to operate. The Board shall be terminated if its authority is not renewed prior to the end of that period. To assist Congress in assessing the Board's utility, subsection (m) requires that the Board report to the Congress concerning its activities and recommendation for continuation, termination, or modification of the Board's functions and programs.

Section 103 subsection (1) authorizes the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually for the Board's first six years of operations. Due to the provisions previously discussed (See e.g. Section 103 subsections (gX2XAXii), (g)(3), (g(4), (g)(5) and (g)(7), it is anticipated that the Board's staff and expenses can be limited in number. (Section 103 subsection (f) limits the Board to one hundred, full-time-equivalent staff personnel.)

Section 104(a) amends section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and provides for the Board to receive the assistance of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). This section would empower ACRS to expand by as many as five additional members and related support staff. Subsection 104(b) would amend Public Law 95-91, and permit, but not require, the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program to provide assistance to the Board from time to time. Section 105 would authorize a one-time comparison study of NRC regulations and DOE orders, with an emphasis on formulating recommendations for improvement in DOE standards.

TITLE II

Title II would establish the applicability of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to the same set of Department of Energy nuclear facilities covered by Title I.

Section 201 states the Congressional findings and purpose for repealing the current OSHA exemption of DOE facilities in section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). Section 202 preserves the current exemption in Section 4(b)(1) of the OSHA Act, except for those facilities described in new subsection (B) which provides for OSHA coverage at DOE production and utilization facilities. (Note: These are the same facilities covered by Title I).

Section 202 subsection (b)(1) specifically maintains all existing occupational safety and health standards currently in place at DOE facilities until the Secretary of Labor provides superseding OSHA standards. Section 202 subsection (2)(B) indicates that the Secretary of Labor's regulations shall include provisions for safeguarding DOE information; mechanisms and processes for enforcement, including the right of entry for unannounced inspections without probable cause; provisions for the receipt of complaints from individuals, and protection of the complainants from retribution. It should be noted that DOE personnel who perform OSHA-type inspections and DOE personnel who perform radiological OSHA-type inspections will not be transferred or reassigned.

Subsection (2)(B)(iv) also makes it clear that OSHA will ensure that the DOE facilities covered by this title will be inspected at least once a year. (Such a schedule is significantly less demanding that that utilized for the post-Bhopal chemical industry).

Section 203 would specifically amend section 22 of the OSHA Act and require the Director of NIOSH to perform all his functions, as required, at DOE nuclear facilities.

Section 204 provides for OSHA and NIOSH to receive the Secretary of Energy's assistance in carrying out their duties under this title. OSHA and NIOSH will adopt safeguards to prevent unauthorized release of information provided by the Secretary of Energy.

TITLE III

Title III would resolve the application of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). 42 U.S.C. section 6901 et. seq., to DOE facilities. Essentially, it clarifies Congress' intent that RCRA applies to hazardous wastes, even when those wastes are contained in a mixture or combination of a hazardous waste (regulated under RCRA) and a radioactive material (subject to the Atomic Energy Act (AEA)).

Section 301 states that Title III may be cited as the "Mixed Hazardous Waste Amendment Act of 1987." For purposes of this title, "mixed hazardous waste" refers to a hazardous waste as defined under RCRA and associated regulations in a mixture or combination with a radioactive material subject to the Atomic Energy Act. In Section 302(1) Congress recognizes the significant dangers to health, safety, and the environment posed by the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of mixed wastes unless carefully planned and managed. In section 302(2), Congress finds that DOE's facilities governed under the Atomic Energy Act produce mixed wastes. In section 302(3), Congress finds that the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states to regulate the hazardous waste component of mixed wastes at

DOE facilities needs to be clarified in view of the continuing controversy over the applicability of RCRA to such wastes. "Authorized states," as referred to in section 302, means states granted authority by EPA to carry out a federal RCRA program.

Section 303 clarifies Congress' intent that the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), 42 U.S.C. section 3251 et seq., as amended by RCRA, applies to mixtures to solid wastes, as defined under RCRA, when these wastes are mixed with radioactive materials which are generated, transported, treated, stored, or disposed of at Department of Energy facilities governed under the Atomic Energy Act, including facilities not licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or delegated states for the disposal of radioactive materials.

Section 304 is the operative section of Title III. It clarifies that the solid waste component of such wastes, when mixed with certain radioactive materials as defined in the Atomic Energy Act, are subject to applicable requirements under the SWDA, as amended by RCRA. Specifically, section 304 amends the current definition of "solid waste" under section 1004(27) of RCRA (42 U.S.C. section 6903(27)). This definition is important because "hazardous waste,' as defined under RCRA section 1004(5), is a subset of "solid waste" as defined in section 1004(27). In other words, in order to be regulated under RCRA as a hazardous waste, a material must first meet the definition of "solid waste.'

Currently, the term "solid waste" under RCRA expressly excludes radioactive materials governed under the Atomic Energy Act, that is, "source, special nuclear and byproduct materials." [42 U.S.C. section 2024(e), (z), (aa)] Title III would retain this exclusion in section 1004(27) for the radioactive materials that are part of a mixture or combination, while the other constituent part of such mixture or combination is a "solid waste" as defined in RCRA section 1004(27). If this mixture or combination, despite its radioactivity, meets RCRA's definition of hazardous waste, the solid waste component of that mixture would be subject to RCRA hazardous waste regulation.

Title III also clarifies that the term "solid waste" does not include mixed wastes at the time they are transported to and emplaced in a repository, as that term is defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), 42 U.S.C. Section 10101(18). This provision is intended to exclude from RCRA regulation the transport of nuclear waste and its subsequent emplacement in a geologic repository developed pursuant to the NWPA. Moreover, if such wastes are disposed of in any palce other than in a repository, developed pursuant to the NWPA, such solid wastes remain subject to RCRA.

Section 305(a)(1) and (2)(B) are self-explanatory. Section 305(a)(2)(A) provides that Title III shall not be construed as altering Congress' intent that the SWDA, as in effect prior to these amendments, applies to the solid waste component of mixed wastes produced by the commercial nuclear industry. EPA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been working to develop a system for joint regulation of commercial mixed wastes under RCRA and the

AEA.

Section 401 states that this title may be cited as the "Radiation Study Advisory Board Act of 1987."

Section 402 states the Congressional findings and purpose for the establishment of a federal advisory committee, the Radiation Research Board ("Board"), under the leadership of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist the Secretary of Energy in conducting studies of the effects of radiation. This assistance is important because public health and occupational health specialists at other departments can assist the scope and quality of government research funded by DOE.

Section 403(a) provides for the Board's membership. It shall consist of eight members appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), one member appointed by the Secretary of Energy, and two members appointed by the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of HHS is required to appoint individuals who are expert in the health effects of radiation or epidemiology, or toxicology, and public health officials who are concerned with such issues, and to consult with particular experts in his Department in this process.

Section 403(b) provides for the Board to review all proposals for health effects studies funded by the Secretary of Energy at levels equal to or exceeding two-hundred-fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). The Board will send recommendations for modification or deletion of proposals to the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary of Energy is required to periodically report to the Congress concerning implementation of the Board's recommendations and is required to provide specific reasons for each decision not to implement the Board's recommendations.

Subsection (b)(4) requires the Board to annually review the studies conducted pursuant to this title, and advise the Secretary of Energy on the direction of future research. To improve the research conducted, subsection (b)(5) provides for researchers not associated with DOE to review data and for peer review of the research. It is anticipated that the Board will not result in any increased costs to the government, in as much as its work is not expected to be time consuming and suitable experts are already employed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Labor, Energy, and in other governmental departments.

Hon. JOHN GLENN,

IX. COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, June 29, 1987.

Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR CHAIRMAN: As you requested, the Congressional Budget Office has reviewed S. 1085, the Nuclear Protection and Safety Act of 1987, as introduced April 21, 1987. CBO estimates that implementation of this bill would result in additional outlays of between $12 million and $18 million in fiscal year 1988, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. We estimate that implementation of S. 1085 would cost between $70 million and $200 million over the 1988-1992 period. The estimated costs vary because they depend largely on the level of enforcement activities undertaken by

the Department of Labor (DOL), and the extent its resources would expand to accommodate an increased workload. In addition, the increased oversight of Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities may necessitate additional DOE expenditures to correct safety and environmental problems; however, there is no basis for estimating such costs, because there is no way to predict what the required corrections would be or how many of them would be made under current law.

Bill Purpose

S. 1085 creates an independent board to oversee the safe operation of DOE nuclear facilities, it applies the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to certain DOE nuclear facilities, clarifies the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding nuclear waste at DOE facilities, and establishes a board to evaluate DOE epidemiological studies of the health effects of radiation.

Title I establishes a three-member Independent Department of Energy Nuclear Safety Board to be appointed by the President. This board is to promote safety at DOE nuclear facilities by conducting_annual evaluations of facilities, reviewing all orders governing DOE nuclear facilities, and recommending improvements in facility operating procedures and DOE health and safety standards. S. 1085 requires the Secretary of Energy to implement each recommendation of the board unless the Secretary determines the recommendation is technically infeasible, or the President exempts a facility from implementing the board's recommendations. The bill authorizes $5 million annually for the 1988-1993 period to conduct the board's activities. In addition, the DOE and other agencies are to provide assistance to the board when requested.

Title II amends the OSHA to cover DOE nuclear facilities, and directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations to govern the application of OSHA to these facilities.

Title III adds an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act to clarify the intent of the Congress that solid waste mixed with radioactive material at DOE facilities is subject to the Solid Waste Act.

Title IV establishes an eight-member Radiation Research Review Board to review DOE proposals for funding epidemiological studies of the health effects of radiation. The Research Review Board is to recommend whether or not DOE should fund these studies, and advises DOE on the suggested scope and direction of future radiation health studies needed.

Federal Budget Impact

CBO estimates that the implementation of Title I in fiscal year 1988 would cost approximately $12 million. This estimate includes: $5 million that the bill authorizes for the Independent Safety Board; an estimated $1.2 million to expand the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; an estimated $0.5 million for the National Academy of Sciences to study the differences between Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations and DOE orders governing nuclear facilities; and an es