18 U.S.C. § 831 — Prohibited transactions involving nuclear

Page 190 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 831 order promulgated by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the protection or security of any laboratory, station, base or other facility, or part thereof, or any aircraft, missile, spacecraft, or similar vehi- cle, or part thereof, or other property or equip- ment in the custody of the Administration, or any real or personal property or equipment in the custody of any contractor under any con- tract with the Administration or any subcon- tractor of any such contractor, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (Added Pub. L. 85–568, title III, § 304(c)(1), July 29, 1958, 72 Stat. 434; amended Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted ‘‘fined under this title’’ for ‘‘fined not more than $5,000’’. CHAPTER 39—EXPLOSIVES AND OTHER DANGEROUS ARTICLES Sec. 831. Prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials. 832. Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States. [833 to 835. Repealed.] 836. Transportation of fireworks into State pro- hibiting sale or use. [837. Repealed.] Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6803(c)(1), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3768, added item 832. 1982—Pub. L. 97–351, § 2(b), Oct. 18, 1982, 96 Stat. 1666, substituted ‘‘Prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials’’ for ‘‘Definitions’’ in item 831 and struck out items 832 ‘‘Transportation of explosives, radioactive materials, etiologic agents, and other dangerous arti- cles’’, 833 ‘‘Marking packages containing explosives and other dangerous articles’’, 834 ‘‘Regulation by Inter- state Commerce Commission’’, and 835 ‘‘Administra- tion’’. 1970—Pub. L. 91–452, title XI, § 1106(b)(2), Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 960, struck out item 837. 1960—Pub. L. 86–710, Sept. 6, 1960, 74 Stat. 808, sub- stituted ‘‘OTHER DANGEROUS ARTICLES’’ for ‘‘COM- BUSTIBLES’’ in chapter heading, ‘‘explosives, radio- active materials, etiologic agents, and other dangerous articles’’ for ‘‘dynamite, powder and fuses’’ in item 832, ‘‘Marking packages containing explosives and other dangerous articles’’ for ‘‘Transportation of nitroglyc- erin’’ in item 833, ‘‘Regulation by Interstate Commerce Commission’’ for ‘‘Marking packages containing explo- sives’’ in item 834, and ‘‘Administration’’ for ‘‘Regula- tions by Interstate Commerce Commission’’ in item 835. Pub. L. 86–449, title II, § 204, May 6, 1960, 74 Stat. 88, added item 837. 1954—Act June 4, 1954, ch. 261, § 2, 68 Stat. 171, added item 836. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES Federal Hazardous Substances Act as not modifying this chapter or regulations promulgated thereunder, see Pub. L. 86–613, § 18, formerly 17, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 380, as amended Pub. L. 89–756, § 4(a), Nov. 3, 1966, 80 Stat. 1305; renumbered and amended Pub. L. 91–113, § 4(a), (b)(1), Nov. 6, 1969, 83 Stat. 189, 190, set out as a note under section 1261 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. § 831. Prohibited transactions involving nuclear materials (a) Whoever, if one of the circumstances de- scribed in subsection (c) of this section occurs— (1) without lawful authority, intentionally receives, possesses, uses, transfers, alters, dis- poses of, or disperses any nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material and— (A) thereby knowingly causes the death of or serious bodily injury to any person or substantial damage to property or to the en- vironment; or (B) circumstances exist, or have been rep- resented to the defendant to exist, that are likely to cause the death or serious bodily injury to any person, or substantial damage to property or to the environment; (2) with intent to deprive another of nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material, know- ingly— (A) takes and carries away nuclear mate- rial or nuclear byproduct material of an- other without authority; (B) makes an unauthorized use, disposi- tion, or transfer, of nuclear material or nu- clear byproduct material belonging to an- other; or (C) uses fraud and thereby obtains nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material be- longing to another; (3) without lawful authority, intentionally carries, sends or moves nuclear material into or out of a country; (4) knowingly— (A) uses force; or (B) threatens or places another in fear that any person other than the actor will immi- nently be subject to bodily injury; and thereby takes nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material belonging to another from the person or presence of any other; (5) intentionally intimidates any person and thereby obtains nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material belonging to another; (6) with intent to compel any person, inter- national organization, or governmental entity to do or refrain from doing any act, knowingly threatens to engage in conduct described in paragraph (2)(A) or (3) of this subsection; (7) knowingly threatens to use nuclear mate- rial or nuclear byproduct material to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person or substantial damage to property or to the envi- ronment under circumstances in which the threat may reasonably be understood as an ex- pression of serious purposes; (8) attempts to commit any act prohibited under paragraphs (1) through (5) of this sub- section; or (9) is a party to a conspiracy of two or more persons to commit any act prohibited under paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection, if any of the parties intentionally engages in any conduct in furtherance of such offense; Page 191 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 831 shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) The punishment for an offense under— (1) paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (a) of this section is— (A) a fine under this title; and (B) imprisonment— (i) for any term of years or for life (I) if, while committing the offense, the offender knowingly causes the death of any person; or (II) if, while committing an offense under paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (a) of this section, the offender, under cir- cumstances manifesting extreme indiffer- ence to the life of an individual, knowingly engages in any conduct and thereby reck- lessly causes the death of or serious bodily injury to any person; and (ii) for not more than 20 years in any other case; and (2) paragraph (9) of subsection (a) of this sec- tion is— (A) a fine under this title; and (B) imprisonment— (i) for not more than 20 years if the of- fense which is the object of the conspiracy is punishable under paragraph (1)(B)(i); and (ii) for not more than 10 years in any other case. (c) The circumstances referred to in sub- section (a) of this section are that— (1) the offense is committed in the United States or the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or the spe- cial aircraft jurisdiction of the United States (as defined in section 46501 of title 49); (2) an offender or a victim is— (A) a national of the United States or a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States; or (B) a United States corporation or other legal entity; (3) after the conduct required for the offense occurs the defendant is found in the United States, even if the conduct required for the of- fense occurs outside the United States; (4) the conduct required for the offense oc- curs with respect to the carriage of a consign- ment of nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material by any means of transportation in- tended to go beyond the territory of the state where the shipment originates beginning with the departure from a facility of the shipper in that state and ending with the arrival at a fa- cility of the receiver within the state of ulti- mate destination and either of such states is the United States; (5) the offense is committed on board a ves- sel of the United States or a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (as de- fined in section 70502 of title 46) or on board an aircraft that is registered under United States law, at the time the offense is committed; (6) the offense is committed outside the United States and against any state or govern- ment facility of the United States; or (7) the offense is committed in an attempt to compel the United States to do or abstain from doing any act, or constitutes a threat di- rected at the United States. (d) NONAPPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to— (1) the activities of armed forces during an armed conflict, as those terms are understood under the law of war, which are governed by that law; or (2) activities undertaken by military forces of a state in the exercise of their official du- ties. (e) The Attorney General may request assist- ance from the Secretary of Defense under chap- ter 18 of title 10 in the enforcement of this sec- tion and the Secretary of Defense may provide such assistance in accordance with chapter 18 of title 10, except that the Secretary of Defense may provide such assistance through any De- partment of Defense personnel. (f)(1) The Attorney General may also request assistance from the Secretary of Defense under this subsection in the enforcement of this sec- tion. Notwithstanding section 1385 of this title, the Secretary of Defense may, in accordance with other applicable law, provide such assist- ance to the Attorney General if— (A) an emergency situation exists (as jointly determined by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense in their discretion); and (B) the provision of such assistance will not adversely affect the military preparedness of the United States (as determined by the Sec- retary of Defense in such Secretary’s discre- tion). (2) As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘emer- gency situation’’ means a circumstance— (A) that poses a serious threat to the inter- ests of the United States; and (B) in which— (i) enforcement of the law would be seri- ously impaired if the assistance were not provided; and (ii) civilian law enforcement personnel are not capable of enforcing the law. (3) Assistance under this section may in- clude— (A) use of personnel of the Department of Defense to arrest persons and conduct searches and seizures with respect to violations of this section; and (B) such other activity as is incidental to the enforcement of this section, or to the pro- tection of persons or property from conduct that violates this section. (4) The Secretary of Defense may require reim- bursement as a condition of assistance under this section. (5) The Attorney General may delegate the At- torney General’s function under this subsection only to a Deputy, Associate, or Assistant Attor- ney General. (g) As used in this section— (1) the term ‘‘nuclear material’’ means ma- terial containing any— (A) plutonium; (B) uranium not in the form of ore or ore residue that contains the mixture of iso- topes as occurring in nature; (C) enriched uranium, defined as uranium that contains the isotope 233 or 235 or both in such amount that the abundance ratio of Page 192 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 831 the sum of those isotopes to the isotope 238 is greater than the ratio of the isotope 235 to the isotope 238 occurring in nature; or (D) uranium 233; (2) the term ‘‘nuclear byproduct material’’ means any material containing any radio- active isotope created through an irradiation process in the operation of a nuclear reactor or accelerator; (3) the term ‘‘international organization’’ means a public international organization des- ignated as such pursuant to section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288) or a public organization created pursuant to treaty or other agreement under international law as an instrument through or by which two or more foreign governments en- gage in some aspect of their conduct of inter- national affairs; (4) the term ‘‘serious bodily injury’’ means bodily injury which involves— (A) a substantial risk of death; (B) extreme physical pain; (C) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or (D) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or men- tal faculty; (5) the term ‘‘bodily injury’’ means— (A) a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or dis- figurement; (B) physical pain; (C) illness; (D) impairment of a function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or (E) any other injury to the body, no mat- ter how temporary; (6) the term ‘‘national of the United States’’ has the same meaning as in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)); (7) the term ‘‘United States corporation or other legal entity’’ means any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of the United States or any State, Commonwealth, territory, possession, or district of the United States; (8) the term ‘‘armed conflict’’ has the mean- ing given that term in section 2332f(e)(11) of this title; (9) the term ‘‘military forces of a state’’ means the armed forces of a country that are organized, trained and equipped under its in- ternal law for the primary purpose of national defense or security and persons acting in sup- port of those armed forces who are under their formal command, control and responsibility; (10) the term ‘‘state’’ has the same meaning as that term has under international law, and includes all political subdivisions thereof; (11) the term ‘‘state or government facility’’ has the meaning given that term in section 2332f(e)(3) of this title; and (12) the term ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ has the meaning given that term in section 70502 of title 46. (Added Pub. L. 97–351, § 2(a), Oct. 18, 1982, 96 Stat. 1663; amended Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7022, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4397; Pub. L. 103–272, § 5(e)(6), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1374; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(2)(C), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148; Pub. L. 104–132, title V, § 502, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1282; Pub. L. 114–23, title VIII, § 812, June 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 311.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 831, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 738; Sept. 6, 1960, Pub. L. 86–710, 74 Stat. 808; July 27, 1965, Pub. L. 89–95, 79 Stat. 285; Oct. 17, 1978, Pub. L. 95–473; § 2(a)(1)(A), 92 Stat. 1464, defined terms used in this chapter, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 96–129, title II, § 216(b), Nov. 30, 1979, 93 Stat. 1015. For savings provi- sions regarding former section 831, see section 218 of Pub. L. 96–129, set out as a note under former sections 832 to 835 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (a)(3) to (7). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(a)(1), (2), added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) to (6) as (4) to (7), respectively. Former par. (7) redesig- nated (8). Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(a)(1), (3), redesig- nated par. (7) as (8) and substituted ‘‘any act prohibited under paragraphs (1) through (5)’’ for ‘‘an offense under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4)’’. Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(a)(1), (4), redesig- nated par. (8) as (9) and substituted ‘‘any act prohibited under paragraphs (1) through (7)’’ for ‘‘an offense under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4)’’. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(b)(1), substituted ‘‘through (8)’’ for ‘‘through (7)’’ in introductory provi- sions. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(b)(2), substituted ‘‘paragraph (9)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(c)(1), inserted ‘‘or a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States’’ before semicolon. Subsec. (c)(5) to (7). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(c)(2)–(4), added pars. (5) to (7) and struck out former par. (5) which read as follows: ‘‘either— ‘‘(A) the governmental entity under subsection (a)(5) is the United States; or ‘‘(B) the threat under subsection (a)(6) is directed at the United States.’’ Subsecs. (d) to (g). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(d), (e), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsecs. (d) to (f) as (e) to (g), respectively. Subsec. (g)(8) to (12). Pub. L. 114–23, § 812(f), added pars. (8) to (12). 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘nuclear material or nuclear byproduct mate- rial’’ for ‘‘nuclear material’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(1)(B)(i), in- serted ‘‘or to the environment’’ after ‘‘damage to prop- erty’’. Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(1)(B)(ii), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: ‘‘knows that circumstances exist which are likely to cause the death of or serious bodily injury to any person or substantial damage to property;’’. Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(1)(C), inserted ‘‘or to the environment’’ after ‘‘damage to property’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(2)(A), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: ‘‘the defendant is a national of the United States, as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101);’’. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(2)(B), struck out ‘‘at the time of the offense the nuclear material is in use, storage, or transport, for peaceful purposes, and’’ before ‘‘after the conduct’’ and struck out ‘‘or’’ at end. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(2)(C), substituted ‘‘nuclear material or nuclear byproduct material’’ for Page 193 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 832 ‘‘nuclear material for peaceful purposes’’ and ‘‘; or’’ for period at end. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(2)(D), added par. (5). Subsec. (f)(1)(A). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(3)(A)(i), struck out ‘‘with an isotopic concentration not in excess of 80 percent plutonium 238’’ after ‘‘plutonium’’. Subsec. (f)(1)(C). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(3)(A)(ii), sub- stituted ‘‘enriched uranium, defined as uranium’’ for ‘‘uranium’’. Subsec. (f)(2) to (7). Pub. L. 104–132, § 502(3)(B)–(F), added par. (2), redesignated former pars. (2) to (4) as (3) to (5), respectively, and added pars. (6) and (7). 1994—Subsec. (b)(1)(A), (2)(A). Pub. L. 103–322 sub- stituted ‘‘fined under this title’’ for ‘‘fine of not more than $250,000’’. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–272 substituted ‘‘section 46501 of title 49’’ for ‘‘section 101 of the Federal Avia- tion Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1301)’’. 1988—Subsec. (e)(2) to (6). Pub. L. 100–690 redesignated pars. (3) to (6) as (2) to (5), respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 1982 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 97–351, § 1, Oct. 18, 1982, 96 Stat. 1663, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this section and amending section 1116 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Conven- tion on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Implementation Act of 1982’.’’ FINDINGS AND PURPOSE OF TITLE V OF PUB. L. 104–132 RELATING TO NUCLEAR MATERIALS Pub. L. 104–132, title V, § 501, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1281, provided that: ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) nuclear materials, including byproduct mate- rials, can be used to create radioactive dispersal de- vices that are capable of causing serious bodily injury as well as substantial damage to property and to the environment; ‘‘(2) the potential use of nuclear materials, includ- ing byproduct materials, enhances the threat posed by terrorist activities and thereby has a greater ef- fect on the security interests of the United States; ‘‘(3) due to the widespread hazards presented by the threat of nuclear contamination, as well as nuclear bombs, the United States has a strong interest in en- suring that persons who are engaged in the illegal ac- quisition and use of nuclear materials, including by- product materials, are prosecuted for their offenses; ‘‘(4) the threat that nuclear materials will be ob- tained and used by terrorist and other criminal orga- nizations has increased substantially since the enact- ment in 1982 of the legislation that implemented the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, codified at section 831 of title 18, United States Code; ‘‘(5) the successful efforts to obtain agreements from other countries to dismantle nuclear weapons have resulted in increased packaging and transpor- tation of nuclear materials, thereby decreasing the security of such materials by increasing the oppor- tunity for unlawful diversion and theft; ‘‘(6) the trafficking in the relatively more common, commercially available, and usable nuclear and by- product materials creates the potential for signifi- cant loss of life and environmental damage; ‘‘(7) report trafficking incidents in the early 1990’s suggest that the individuals involved in trafficking in these materials from Eurasia and Eastern Europe fre- quently conducted their black market sales of these materials within the Federal Republic of Germany, the Baltic States, the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, and to a lesser extent in the Middle European countries; ‘‘(8) the international community has become in- creasingly concerned over the illegal possession of nuclear and nuclear byproduct materials; ‘‘(9) the potentially disastrous ramifications of in- creased access to nuclear and nuclear byproduct ma- terials pose such a significant threat that the United States must use all lawful methods available to com- bat the illegal use of such materials; ‘‘(10) the United States has an interest in encour- aging United States corporations to do business in the countries that comprised the former Soviet Union, and in other developing democracies; ‘‘(11) protection of such United States corporations from threats created by the unlawful use of nuclear materials is important to the success of the effort to encourage business ventures in these countries, and to further the foreign relations and commerce of the United States; ‘‘(12) the nature of nuclear contamination is such that it may affect the health, environment, and prop- erty of United States nationals even if the acts that constitute the illegal activity occur outside the terri- tory of the United States, and are primarily directed toward foreign nationals; and ‘‘(13) there is presently no Federal criminal statute that provides adequate protection to United States interests from nonweapons grade, yet hazardous ra- dioactive material, and from the illegal diversion of nuclear materials that are held for other than peace- ful purposes. ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title [enacting section 2332c of this title, amending this section and sections 175, 177, 178, and 2332a of this title, and enact- ing provisions set out as notes under section 262 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and section 1522 of Title 50, War and National Defense] is to provide Federal law enforcement agencies with the necessary means and the maximum authority permissible under the Constitution to combat the threat of nuclear con- tamination and proliferation that may result from the illegal possession and use of radioactive materials.’’ § 832. Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States (a) Whoever, within the United States or sub- ject to the jurisdiction of the United States, willfully participates in or knowingly provides material support or resources (as defined in sec- tion 2339A) to a nuclear weapons program or other weapons of mass destruction program of a foreign terrorist power, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years. (b) There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdic- tion over an offense under this section. (c) Whoever without lawful authority devel- ops, possesses, or attempts or conspires to de- velop or possess a radiological weapon, or threatens to use or uses a radiological weapon against any person within the United States, or a national of the United States while such na- tional is outside of the United States or against any property that is owned, leased, funded, or used by the United States, whether that prop- erty is within or outside of the United States, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life. (d) As used in this section— (1) ‘‘nuclear weapons program’’ means a pro- gram or plan for the development, acquisition, or production of any nuclear weapon or weap- ons; (2) ‘‘weapons of mass destruction program’’ means a program or plan for the development, acquisition, or production of any weapon or weapons of mass destruction (as defined in sec- tion 2332a(c)); (3) ‘‘foreign terrorist power’’ means a ter- rorist organization designated under section