HR0763 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0763 LRB102 26917 MST 38061 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Stranded Act of 2021, currently in the United States Senate, provides resources to communities that are challenged by stranded nuclear waste; and

WHEREAS, This act would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish competitive prize competitions for affected communities to carry out alternatives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste sites; and

WHEREAS, The DOE must also establish the Stranded Nuclear Waste Task Force to study existing public and private resources and funding for affected communities and establish a grant program to assist localities near nuclear power plants to offset the impacts of stranded nuclear waste in affected communities; and

WHEREAS, The passage of this act would impact communities in Illinois that are dealing with the health and environmental risks caused by stranded nuclear material and would provide relief and compensation to communities such as Zion that are struggling to handle the stranded nuclear waste; and

WHEREAS, Highly radioactive waste, often called high-level waste, comes mainly in two forms, leftover fuels that were used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity and the waste made by facilities involved in nuclear weapons production or by facilities that reprocess and recycle used power plant fuel; and

WHEREAS, While these waste materials, which can be harmful to human health and the environment, wait for a more permanent home, their containers age; in some cases, the aging containers have already begun leaking their toxic contents; all of these wastes can remain dangerously radioactive for many thousands of years; for that reason, they must be disposed of permanently; and

WHEREAS, Approximately a dozen countries, including Finland, Switzerland, and other European nations, are planning deep geological repositories for their nuclear waste; in the U.S., government officials have proposed storing the country's waste in a repository beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada; and

WHEREAS, The products of nuclear fission have long half lives, which means that they will continue to be radioactive and therefore hazardous for many thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, Many different storage methods have been discussed throughout history, with very few being implemented because of the problematic nature of storing such hazardous material that will remain radioactive for thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, Nuclear waste can have drastic effects on life, causing cancerous growths, for instance, or causing genetic problems for many generations of animal and plants; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the passage of the Stranded Act of 2021, currently in the United States Senate, which provides resources to communities that are challenged by stranded nuclear waste; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.