Full Text of HR0763 102nd General Assembly
HR0763 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Stranded Act of 2021, currently in the United | 3 | | States Senate, provides resources to communities that are | 4 | | challenged by stranded nuclear waste; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, This act would require the Department of Energy | 6 | | (DOE) to establish competitive prize competitions for affected | 7 | | communities to carry out alternatives to nuclear facilities, | 8 | | generating sites, and waste sites; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The DOE must also establish the Stranded Nuclear | 10 | | Waste Task Force to study existing public and private | 11 | | resources and funding for affected communities and establish a | 12 | | grant program to assist localities near nuclear power plants | 13 | | to offset the impacts of stranded nuclear waste in affected | 14 | | communities; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The passage of this act would impact communities | 16 | | in Illinois that are dealing with the health and environmental | 17 | | risks caused by stranded nuclear material and would provide | 18 | | relief and compensation to communities such as Zion that are | 19 | | struggling to handle the stranded nuclear waste; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Highly radioactive waste, often called high-level | 21 | | waste, comes mainly in two forms, leftover fuels that were |
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| 1 | | used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity and the | 2 | | waste made by facilities involved in nuclear weapons | 3 | | production or by facilities that reprocess and recycle used | 4 | | power plant fuel; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, While these waste materials, which can be harmful | 6 | | to human health and the environment, wait for a more permanent | 7 | | home, their containers age; in some cases, the aging | 8 | | containers have already begun leaking their toxic contents; | 9 | | all of these wastes can remain dangerously radioactive for | 10 | | many thousands of years; for that reason, they must be | 11 | | disposed of permanently; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Approximately a dozen countries, including | 13 | | Finland, Switzerland, and other European nations, are planning | 14 | | deep geological repositories for their nuclear waste; in the | 15 | | U.S., government officials have proposed storing the country's | 16 | | waste in a repository beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The products of nuclear fission have long half | 18 | | lives, which means that they will continue to be radioactive | 19 | | and therefore hazardous for many thousands of years; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Many different storage methods have been | 21 | | discussed throughout history, with very few being implemented | 22 | | because of the problematic nature of storing such hazardous |
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| 1 | | material that will remain radioactive for thousands of years; | 2 | | and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Nuclear waste can have drastic effects on life, | 4 | | causing cancerous growths, for instance, or causing genetic | 5 | | problems for many generations of animal and plants; therefore, | 6 | | be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we urge the passage of the Stranded Act of 2021, currently in | 10 | | the United States Senate, which provides resources to | 11 | | communities that are challenged by stranded nuclear waste; and | 12 | | be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 | | delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. | 15 | | Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the | 16 | | U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives | 17 | | Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional | 18 | | Delegation.
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