Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds introduced legislation Tuesday that is intended to eliminate America’s dependence on Russia and China for key nuclear materials.
The American Isotope Security Act would direct the Secretary of Energy to create a list of radioactive isotopes “that can only be produced by a … foreign adversary” and determine which ones “may impact the national security of the United States.” The legislation also requires the Secretary to explain how “advanced nuclear reactors and other technologies, including spent nuclear fuel recycling technologies … may increase the potential to produce radioactive isotopes.”
In addition to Russia and China, the legislation covers nuclear isotope production in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. (RELATED: Trump Wants Tariffs On Uranium, Nuclear Reactors From China)
Read the bill here:
American Isotope Security Act by Michael Ginsberg on Scribd
American pharmaceutical and defense companies are heavily reliant on the Russian firm Rosatom for several key nuclear isotopes. For instance, Molybdenum-99, a key component of medical diagnostic procedures, is primarily sourced from Russian labs that enrich uranium. The U.S. imported 14% of its uranium from Russia in 2021, and the country has half of the world’s enrichment capacity, according to The Washington Post.
“We should not be dependent, let alone completely reliant on our adversaries for critical radioactive isotopes when the United States has the ability to produce these isotopes domestically,” Donalds said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “The American Isotope Security Act requires an analysis of how advanced nuclear reactors and spent nuclear fuel recycling facilities can reduce our isotope-related adversarial dependency. Energy security is national security, and we must ensure that the United States of America adapts to a position of self-sufficiency.”
China has extensively negotiated with African and Asian countries for their mineral rights. Cobalt, which is used in both machinery and in medical procedures, is primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in sites controlled by China. China controls 80% of the world’s cobalt production, according to National Defense Magazine.
In the aftermath of the U.S.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Chinese mining firms have moved in. The mountainous country is estimated to have as much as $1 trillion in mineral reserves, including lithium, gold, iron, and copper. Lithium is a key ingredient in drugs that treat conditions like bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, while copper is used to treat illnesses like anemia, cholera and dysentery.