Nuclear Liability Reform Act of 1980

Nuclear Liability Reform Act of 1980 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to limit the aggregate liability of persons liable for public liability caused by a nuclear incident to the sum of the financial protection required and a certain indemnity provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Limits such aggregate liability under an indemnification agreement for a nuclear incident outside the United States to $100,000,000 plus the contractor's required protection. Prohibits the payment for such liability at certain facilities from any source except the financial protection required until that protection is exhausted. Requires certain licensees and allows others to make arrangements which satisfy the Commission that the facility's manufacturer and architect-engineer will participate in the industry retrospective rating plan. Directs the Commission, in calculating the maximum amount of liability insurance available from private sources for licensees, to include private liability insurance available under an industry retrospective rating plan providing for premium charges deferred until public liability exceeds or appears likely to exceed the level of the licensee's required primary financial protection. Directs such insurance to be available to and required of each licensee, manufacturer, and architect-engineer of such a facility. Requires the deferred premium charged under such a plan to be: (1) $50,000,000 for each licensee with respect to each facility for which the maximum amount of financial protection is required; (2) for each manufacturer, $25,000,000 multiplied by the number of such facilities the manufacturer has built; and (3) for the architect-engineer, $25,000,000 multiplied by the number of such facilities designed or supervised by such architect-engineer. Increases the statute of limitations to 40 years for certain suits based on nuclear incidents. Directs a finding of liability for damages caused by a nuclear incident if a reasonable person could conclude that medical expenses and the injury or disease which caused them are reasonably related to such nuclear incident. Allows recovery even if the claimant cannot show: (1) the identity or source of the substance which caused the injury or disease; (2) the route the substance took to the claimant; or (3) an explanation of the cause of the substance in the claimant. Prohibits courts from considering claims by the owner or operator of a nuclear reactor until all other permitted claims have been resolved.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 9, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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