§7901. Congressional findings and purposes

(a) The Congress finds that uranium mill tailings located at active and inactive mill operations may pose a potential and significant radiation health hazard to the public, and that the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and the regulation of interstate commerce require that every reasonable effort be made to provide for the stabilization, disposal, and control in a safe and environmentally sound manner of such tailings in order to prevent or minimize radon diffusion into the environment and to prevent or minimize other environmental hazards from such tailings.

(b) The purposes of this chapter are to provide-

(1) in cooperation with the interested States, Indian tribes, and the persons who own or control inactive mill tailings sites, a program of assessment and remedial action at such sites, including, where appropriate, the reprocessing of tailings to extract residual uranium and other mineral values where practicable, in order to stabilize and control such tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public, and

(2) a program to regulate mill tailings during uranium or thorium ore processing at active mill operations and after termination of such operations in order to stabilize and control such tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public.

( Pub. L. 95–604, §2, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original "this Act", meaning Pub. L. 95–604, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021 , known as the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note below and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title of 1988 Amendment

Pub. L. 100–616, §1, Nov. 5, 1988, 102 Stat. 3192 , provided: "That this Act [amending sections 7916 and 7922 of this title] may be cited as the 'Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Amendments Act of 1988'."

Short Title

Pub. L. 95–604, §1, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021 , provided that: "This Act [enacting this chapter and sections 2022, 2113, and 2114 of this title, amending sections 2014, 2021, 2111, and 2201 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 2014, 2021, and 2113 of this title] may be cited as the 'Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978'."