With concerns about nuclear terrorism on the rise, one would think it a no-brainer that Congress should be tightening, not loosening, controls over the export of bomb-grade uranium. Yet the comprehensive energy bill that passed the House and is pending in the Senate would foolishly weaken restrictions on the export of highly enriched uranium to make medical isotopes.
These isotopes are used to diagnose and treat illnesses like cancer, and the measure has been paraded as critical to nuclear medicine. But the real need appears to be a desire by isotope manufacturers for laxer standards. The Senate should back away from this precipice.
Under current law, written by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the federal government is allowed to ship highly enriched uranium to reactor operators abroad as long as they agree to switch to safer low-enriched uranium as soon as technically and economically feasible. But the chief supplier of medical isotopes for the American market, a Canadian company called MDS Nordion, is said to have broken its pledge to cooperate. Incredibly, the pending legislation would reward this resistance by easing the rules for exporting uranium to make isotopes in Canada and four European nations.
Some medical groups are backing the relaxation. But the Physicians for Social Responsibility, which takes a broader view, notes that the law will not disrupt supplies as long as manufacturers work conscientiously toward safer forms of uranium. In the interests of reducing the amount of bomb-grade uranium in circulation, the Senate should support amendments being prepared by Mr. Schumer and Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, to keep the current restrictions in place.
