(a) This part establishes—

(1) Requirements for packaging, preparation for shipment, and transportation of licensed material; and

(2) Procedures and standards for NRC approval of packaging and shipping procedures for fissile material and for a quantity of other licensed material in excess of a Type A quantity.

(b) The packaging and transport of licensed material are also subject to other parts of this chapter (e.g., 10 CFR parts 20, 21, 30, 40, 70, and 73) and to the regulations of other agencies (e.g., the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Postal Service) 1 having jurisdiction over means of transport. The requirements of this part are in addition to, and not in substitution for, other requirements.

(c) The regulations in this part apply to any licensee authorized by specific or general license issued by the Commission to receive, possess, use, or transfer licensed material, if the licensee delivers that material to a carrier for transport, transports the material outside the site of usage as specified in the NRC license, or transports that material on public highways. No provision of this part authorizes possession of licensed material.

(d)(1) Exemptions from the requirement for license in § 71.3 are specified in § 71.14. General licenses for which no NRC package approval is required are issued in §§ 71.21 through 71.23. The general license in § 71.17 requires that an NRC certificate of compliance or other package approval be issued for the package to be used under this general license.

(2) Application for package approval must be completed in accordance with subpart D of this part, demonstrating that the design of the package to be used satisfies the package approval standards contained in subpart E of this part, as related to the tests of subpart F of this part.

(3) A licensee transporting licensed material, or delivering licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall comply with the operating control requirements of subpart G of this part; the quality assurance requirements of subpart H of this part; and the general provisions of subpart A of this part, including DOT regulations referenced in § 71.5.

(e) The regulations of this part apply to any person holding, or applying for, a certificate of compliance, issued pursuant to this part, for a package intended for the transportation of radioactive material, outside the confines of a licensee's facility or authorized place of use.

(f) The regulations in this part apply to any person required to obtain a certificate of compliance, or an approved compliance plan, pursuant to part 76 of this chapter, if the person delivers radioactive material to a common or contract carrier for transport or transports the material outside the confines of the person's plant or other authorized place of use.

(g) This part also gives notice to all persons who knowingly provide to any licensee, certificate holder, quality assurance program approval holder, applicant for a license, certificate, or quality assurance program approval, or to a contractor, or subcontractor of any of them, components, equipment, materials, or other goods or services, that relate to a licensee's, certificate holder's, quality assurance program approval holder's, or applicant's activities subject to this part, that they may be individually subject to NRC enforcement action for violation of § 71.8.

(a) Except where otherwise specified, all communications and reports concerning the regulations in this part and applications filed under them should be sent by mail addressed: ATTN: Document Control Desk, Director, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by hand delivery to the NRC's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; or, where practicable, by electronic submission, for example, via Electronic Information Exchange, or CD-ROM. Electronic submissions must be made in a manner that enables the NRC to receive, read, authenticate, distribute, and archive the submission, and process and retrieve it a single page at a time. Detailed guidance on making electronic submissions can be obtained by visiting the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by writing the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The guidance discusses, among other topics, the formats the NRC can accept, the use of electronic signatures, and the treatment of nonpublic information. If the submission date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday, the next Federal working day becomes the official due date.

(b) Each record required by this part must be legible throughout the retention period specified by each Commission regulation. The record may be the original or a reproduced copy or a microform provided that the copy or microform is authenticated by authorized personnel and that the microform is capable of producing a clear copy throughout the required retention period. The record may also be stored in electronic media with the capability for producing legible, accurate, and complete records during the required retention period. Records such as letters, drawings, and specifications must include all pertinent information such as stamps, initials, and signatures. The licensee shall maintain adequate safeguards against tampering with and loss of records.

Except as specifically authorized by the Commission in writing, no interpretation of the meaning of the regulations in this part by any officer or employee of the Commission, other than a written interpretation by the General Counsel, will be recognized to be binding upon the Commission.

Except as authorized in a general license or a specific license issued by the Commission, or as exempted in this part, no licensee may—

(a) Deliver licensed material to a carrier for transport; or

(b) Transport licensed material.

The following terms are as defined here for the purpose of this part. To ensure compatibility with international transportation standards, all limits in this part are given in terms of dual units: The International System of Units (SI) followed or preceded by U.S. standard or customary units. The U.S. customary units are not exact equivalents but are rounded to a convenient value, providing a functionally equivalent unit. For the purpose of this part, either unit may be used.

A1 means the maximum activity of special form radioactive material permitted in a Type A package. This value is either listed in Appendix A, Table A-1, of this part, or may be derived in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Appendix A of this part.

A2 means the maximum activity of radioactive material, other than special form material, LSA, and SCO material, permitted in a Type A package. This value is either listed in Appendix A, Table A-1, of this part, or may be derived in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Appendix A of this part.

Carrier means a person engaged in the transportation of passengers or property by land or water as a common, contract, or private carrier, or by civil aircraft.

Certificate holder means a person who has been issued a certificate of compliance or other package approval by the Commission.

Certificate of Compliance (CoC) means the certificate issued by the Commission under subpart D of this part which approves the design of a package for the transportation of radioactive material.

Close reflection by water means immediate contact by water of sufficient thickness for maximum reflection of neutrons.

Consignment means each shipment of a package or groups of packages or load of radioactive material offered by a shipper for transport.

Containment system means the assembly of components of the packaging intended to retain the radioactive material during transport.

Contamination means the presence of a radioactive substance on a surface in quantities in excess of 0.4 Bq/cm 2 (1 × 10−5 µCi/cm 2) for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 0.04 Bq/cm 2 (1 × 10−6 µCi/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters.

(1) Fixed contamination means contamination that cannot be removed from a surface during normal conditions of transport.

(2) Non-fixed contamination means contamination that can be removed from a surface during normal conditions of transport.

Conveyance means:

(1) For transport by public highway or rail any transport vehicle or large freight container;

(2) For transport by water any vessel, or any hold, compartment, or defined deck area of a vessel including any transport vehicle on board the vessel; and

(3) For transport by any aircraft.

Criticality Safety Index (CSI) means the dimensionless number (rounded up to the next tenth) assigned to and placed on the label of a fissile material package, to designate the degree of control of accumulation of packages, overpacks or freight containers containing fissile material during transportation. Determination of the criticality safety index is described in §§ 71.22, 71.23, and 71.59. The criticality safety index for an overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance containing fissile material packages is the arithmetic sum of the criticality safety indices of all the fissile material packages contained within the overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance.

Deuterium means, for the purposes of §§ 71.15 and 71.22, deuterium and any deuterium compounds, including heavy water, in which the ratio of deuterium atoms to hydrogen atoms exceeds 1:5000.

DOT means the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Exclusive use means the sole use by a single consignor of a conveyance for which all initial, intermediate, and final loading and unloading are carried out in accordance with the direction of the consignor or consignee. The consignor and the carrier must ensure that any loading or unloading is performed by personnel having radiological training and resources appropriate for safe handling of the consignment. The consignor must issue specific instructions, in writing, for maintenance of exclusive use shipment controls, and include them with the shipping paper information provided to the carrier by the consignor.

Fissile material means the radionuclides uranium-233, uranium-235, plutonium-239, and plutonium-241, or any combination of these radionuclides. Fissile material means the fissile nuclides themselves, not material containing fissile nuclides. Unirradiated natural uranium and depleted uranium and natural uranium or depleted uranium, that has been irradiated in thermal reactors only, are not included in this definition. Certain exclusions from fissile material controls are provided in § 71.15.

Graphite means, for the purposes of §§ 71.15 and 71.22, graphite with a boron equivalent content less than 5 parts per million and density greater than 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.

Indian tribe means an Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian Tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 5130.

Licensed material means byproduct, source, or special nuclear material received, possessed, used, or transferred under a general or specific license issued by the Commission pursuant to the regulations in this chapter.

Low Specific Activity (LSA) material means radioactive material with limited specific activity which is nonfissile or is excepted under § 71.15, and which satisfies the descriptions and limits set forth in the following section. Shielding materials surrounding the LSA material may not be considered in determining the estimated average specific activity of the package contents. The LSA material must be in one of three groups:

(1) LSA-I.

(i) Uranium and thorium ores, concentrates of uranium and thorium ores, and other ores containing naturally occurring radionuclides that are intended to be processed for the use of these radionuclides;

(ii) Natural uranium, depleted uranium, natural thorium or their compounds or mixtures, provided they are unirradiated and in solid or liquid form;

(iii) Radioactive material other than fissile material, for which the A2 value is unlimited; or

(iv) Other radioactive material in which the activity is distributed throughout and the estimated average specific activity does not exceed 30 times the value for exempt material activity concentration determined in accordance with appendix A.

(2) LSA-II.

(i) Water with tritium concentration up to 0.8 TBq/liter (20.0 Ci/liter); or

(ii) Other radioactive material in which the activity is distributed throughout and the estimated average specific activity does not exceed 10−4 A2/g for solids and gases, and 10−5 A2/g for liquids.

(3) LSA-III. Solids (e.g., consolidated wastes, activated materials), excluding powders, that satisfy the requirements of § 71.77, in which:

(i) The radioactive material is distributed throughout a solid or a collection of solid objects, or is essentially uniformly distributed in a solid compact binding agent (such as concrete, bitumen, ceramic, etc.);

(ii) The radioactive material is relatively insoluble, or it is intrinsically contained in a relatively insoluble material, so that even under loss of packaging, the loss of radioactive material per package by leaching when placed in water for 7 days will not exceed 0.1 A2; and

(iii) The estimated average specific activity of the solid, excluding any shielding material, does not exceed 2 × 10−3 A2/g.

Low toxicity alpha emitters means natural uranium, depleted uranium, natural thorium; uranium-235, uranium-238, thorium-232, thorium-228 or thorium-230 when contained in ores or physical or chemical concentrates or tailings; or alpha emitters with a half-life of less than 10 days.

Maximum normal operating pressure means the maximum gauge pressure that would develop in the containment system in a period of 1 year under the heat condition specified in § 71.71(c)(1), in the absence of venting, external cooling by an ancillary system, or operational controls during transport.

Natural thorium means thorium with the naturally occurring distribution of thorium isotopes (essentially 100 weight percent thorium-232).

Normal form radioactive material means radioactive material that has not been demonstrated to qualify as “special form radioactive material.”

Optimum interspersed hydrogenous moderation means the presence of hydrogenous material between packages to such an extent that the maximum nuclear reactivity results.

Package means the packaging together with its radioactive contents as presented for transport.

(1) Fissile material package or Type AF package, Type BF package, Type B(U)F package, or Type B(M)F package means a fissile material packaging together with its fissile material contents.

(2) Type A package means a Type A packaging together with its radioactive contents. A Type A package is defined and must comply with the DOT regulations in 49 CFR part 173.

(3) Type B package means a Type B packaging together with its radioactive contents. On approval, a Type B package design is designated by NRC as B(U) unless the package has a maximum normal operating pressure of more than 700 kPa (100 lbs/in 2) gauge or a pressure relief device that would allow the release of radioactive material to the environment under the tests specified in § 71.73 (hypothetical accident conditions), in which case it will receive a designation B(M). B(U) refers to the need for unilateral approval of international shipments; B(M) refers to the need for multilateral approval of international shipments. There is no distinction made in how packages with these designations may be used in domestic transportation. To determine their distinction for international transportation, see DOT regulations in 49 CFR Part 173. A Type B package approved before September 6, 1983, was designated only as Type B. Limitations on its use are specified in § 71.19.

Packaging means the assembly of components necessary to ensure compliance with the packaging requirements of this part. It may consist of one or more receptacles, absorbent materials, spacing structures, thermal insulation, radiation shielding, and devices for cooling or absorbing mechanical shocks. The vehicle, tie-down system, and auxiliary equipment may be designated as part of the packaging.

Special form radioactive material means radioactive material that satisfies the following conditions:

(1) It is either a single solid piece or is contained in a sealed capsule that can be opened only by destroying the capsule;

(2) The piece or capsule has at least one dimension not less than 5 mm (0.2 in); and

(3) It satisfies the requirements of § 71.75. A special form encapsulation designed in accordance with the requirements of § 71.4 in effect on June 30, 1983 (see 10 CFR part 71, revised as of January 1, 1983), and constructed before July 1, 1985; a special form encapsulation designed in accordance with the requirements of § 71.4 in effect on March 31, 1996 (see 10 CFR part 71, revised as of January 1, 1996), and constructed before April 1, 1998; and special form material that was successfully tested before September 10, 2015 in accordance with the requirements of § 71.75(d) of this section in effect before September 10, 2015 may continue to be used. Any other special form encapsulation must meet the specifications of this definition.

Specific activity of a radionuclide means the radioactivity of the radionuclide per unit mass of that nuclide. The specific activity of a material in which the radionuclide is essentially uniformly distributed is the radioactivity per unit mass of the material.

Spent nuclear fuel or Spent fuel means fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, has undergone at least 1 year's decay since being used as a source of energy in a power reactor, and has not been chemically separated into its constituent elements by reprocessing. Spent fuel includes the special nuclear material, byproduct material, source material, and other radioactive materials associated with fuel assemblies.

State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Surface Contaminated Object (SCO) means a solid object that is not itself classed as radioactive material, but which has radioactive material distributed on any of its surfaces. SCO must be in one of two groups with surface activity not exceeding the following limits:

(1) SCO-I: A solid object on which:

(i) The nonfixed contamination on the accessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 4 Bq/cm 2 (10−4 microcurie/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 0.4 Bq/cm 2 (10−5 microcurie/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters;

(ii) The fixed contamination on the accessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 4 × 10 4 Bq/cm 2 (1.0 microcurie/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 4 × 10 3 Bq/cm 2 (0.1 microcurie/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters; and

(iii) The nonfixed contamination plus the fixed contamination on the inaccessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 4 × 10 4 Bq/cm 2 (1 microcurie/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 4 × 10 3 Bq/cm 2 (0.1 microcurie/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters.

(2) SCO-II: A solid object on which the limits for SCO-I are exceeded and on which:

(i) The nonfixed contamination on the accessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 400 Bq/cm 2 (10−2 microcurie/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters or 40 Bq/cm 2 (10−3 microcurie/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters;

(ii) The fixed contamination on the accessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 8 × 10 5 Bq/cm 2 (20 microcuries/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 8 × 10 4 Bq/cm 2 (2 microcuries/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters; and

(iii) The nonfixed contamination plus the fixed contamination on the inaccessible surface averaged over 300 cm 2 (or the area of the surface if less than 300 cm 2) does not exceed 8 × 10 5 Bq/cm 2 (20 microcuries/cm 2) for beta and gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, or 8 × 10 4 Bq/cm 2 (2 microcuries/cm 2) for all other alpha emitters.

Transport index (TI) means the dimensionless number (rounded up to the next tenth) placed on the label of a package, to designate the degree of control to be exercised by the carrier during transportation. The transport index is the number determined by multiplying the maximum radiation level in millisievert (mSv) per hour at 1 meter (3.3 ft) from the external surface of the package by 100 (equivalent to the maximum radiation level in millirem per hour at 1 meter (3.3 ft)).

Tribal official means the highest ranking individual that represents Tribal leadership, such as the Chief, President, or Tribal Council leadership.

Type A quantity means a quantity of radioactive material, the aggregate radioactivity of which does not exceed A1 for special form radioactive material, or A2, for normal form radioactive material, where A1 and A2 are given in Table A-1 of this part, or may be determined by procedures described in Appendix A of this part.

Type B quantity means a quantity of radioactive material greater than a Type A quantity.

Unirradiated uranium means uranium containing not more than 2 × 10 3 Bq of plutonium per gram of uranium-235, not more than 9 × 10 6 Bq of fission products per gram of uranium-235, and not more than 5 × 10−3 g of uranium-236 per gram of uranium-235.

Uranium—natural, depleted, enriched. (1) Natural uranium means uranium (which may be chemically separated) with the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes (approximately 0.711 weight percent uranium-235, and the remainder by weight essentially uranium-238).

(2) Depleted uranium means uranium containing less uranium-235 than the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes.

(3) Enriched uranium means uranium containing more uranium-235 than the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes.

(a) Each licensee who transports licensed material outside the site of usage, as specified in the NRC license, or where transport is on public highways, or who delivers licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall comply with the applicable requirements of the DOT regulations in 49 CFR parts 107, 171 through 180, and 390 through 397, appropriate to the mode of transport.

(1) The licensee shall particularly note DOT regulations in the following areas:

(i) Packaging—49 CFR part 173: subparts A, B, and I.

(ii) Marking and labeling—49 CFR part 172: subpart D; and §§ 172.400 through 172.407 and §§ 172.436 through 172.441 of subpart E.

(iii) Placarding—49 CFR part 172: subpart F, especially §§ 172.500 through 172.519 and 172.556; and appendices B and C.

(iv) Accident reporting—49 CFR part 171: §§ 171.15 and 171.16.

(v) Shipping papers and emergency information—49 CFR part 172: subparts C and G.

(vi) Hazardous material employee training—49 CFR part 172: subpart H.

(vii) Security plans—49 CFR part 172: subpart I.

(viii) Hazardous material shipper/carrier registration—49 CFR part 107: subpart G.

(2) The licensee shall also note DOT regulations pertaining to the following modes of transportation:

(i) Rail—49 CFR part 174: subparts A through D and K.

(ii) Air—49 CFR part 175.

(iii) Vessel—49 CFR part 176: subparts A through F and M.

(iv) Public Highway—49 CFR part 177 and parts 390 through 397.

(b) If DOT regulations are not applicable to a shipment of licensed material, the licensee shall conform to the standards and requirements of the DOT specified in paragraph (a) of this section to the same extent as if the shipment or transportation were subject to DOT regulations. A request for modification, waiver, or exemption from those requirements, and any notification referred to in those requirements, must be filed with, or made to, the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

(a) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has submitted the information collection requirements contained in this part to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved the information collection requirements contained in this part under control number 3150-0008.

(b) The approved information collection requirements contained in this part appear in §§ 71.5, 71.7, 71.9, 71.12, 71.17, 71.19, 71.22, 71.23, 71.31, 71.33, 71.35, 71.37, 71.38, 71.39, 71.41, 71.47, 71.85, 71.87, 71.89, 71.91, 71.93, 71.95, 71.97, 71.101, 71.103, 71.105, 71.106, 71.107, 71.109, 71.111, 71.113, 71.115, 71.117, 71.119, 71.121, 71.123, 71.125, 71.127, 71.129, 71.131, 71.133, 71.135, 71.137, and appendix A, paragraph II.

(a) Information provided to the Commission by a licensee, certificate holder, or an applicant for a license or CoC; or information required by statute or by the Commission's regulations, orders, license or CoC conditions, to be maintained by the licensee or certificate holder, must be complete and accurate in all material respects.

(b) Each licensee, certificate holder, or applicant for a license or CoC must notify the Commission of information identified by the licensee, certificate holder, or applicant for a license or CoC as having, for the regulated activity, a significant implication for public health and safety or common defense and security. A licensee, certificate holder, or an applicant for a license or CoC violates this paragraph only if the licensee, certificate holder, or applicant for a license or CoC fails to notify the Commission of information that the licensee, certificate holder, or applicant for a license or CoC has identified as having a significant implication for public health and safety or common defense and security. Notification must be provided to the Administrator of the appropriate Regional Office within 2 working days of identifying the information. This requirement is not applicable to information which is already required to be provided to the Commission by other reporting or updating requirements.

(a) This section applies to any—

(1) Licensee;

(2) Certificate holder;

(3) Quality assurance program approval holder;

(4) Applicant for a license, certificate, or quality assurance program approval;

(5) Contractor (including a supplier or consultant) or subcontractor, to any person identified in paragraph (a)(4) of this section; or

(6) Employees of any person identified in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5) of this section.

(b) A person identified in paragraph (a) of this section who knowingly provides to any entity, listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5) of this section, any components, materials, or other goods or services that relate to a licensee's, certificate holder's, quality assurance program approval holder's, or applicant's activities subject to this part may not:

(1) Engage in deliberate misconduct that causes or would have caused, if not detected, a licensee, certificate holder, quality assurance program approval holder, or any applicant to be in violation of any rule, regulation, or order; or any term, condition or limitation of any license, certificate, or approval issued by the Commission; or

(2) Deliberately submit to the NRC, a licensee, a certificate holder, quality assurance program approval holder, an applicant for a license, certificate or quality assurance program approval, or a licensee's, applicant's, certificate holder's, or quality assurance program approval holder's contractor or subcontractor, information that the person submitting the information knows to be incomplete or inaccurate in some respect material to the NRC.

(c) A person who violates paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section may be subject to enforcement action in accordance with the procedures in 10 CFR part 2, subpart B.

(d) For the purposes of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, deliberate misconduct by a person means an intentional act or omission that the person knows:

(1) Would cause a licensee, certificate holder, quality assurance program approval holder, or applicant for a license, certificate, or quality assurance program approval to be in violation of any rule, regulation, or order; or any term, condition, or limitation of any license or certificate issued by the Commission; or

(2) Constitutes a violation of a requirement, procedure, instruction, contract, purchase order, or policy of a licensee, certificate holder, quality assurance program approval holder, applicant, or the contractor or subcontractor of any of them.

(a) Discrimination by a Commission licensee, certificate holder, an applicant for a Commission license or a CoC, or a contractor or subcontractor of any of these, against an employee for engaging in certain protected activities, is prohibited. Discrimination includes discharge and other actions that relate to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. The protected activities are established in section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and in general are related to the administration or enforcement of a requirement imposed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended.

(1) The protected activities include, but are not limited to:

(i) Providing the Commission or his or her employer information about alleged violations of either of the statutes named in paragraph (a) of this section or possible violations of requirements imposed under either of those statutes;

(ii) Refusing to engage in any practice made unlawful under either of the statutes named in paragraph (a) of this section or under these requirements if the employee has identified the alleged illegality to the employer;

(iii) Requesting the Commission to institute action against his or her employer for the administration or enforcement of these requirements;

(iv) Testifying in any Commission proceeding, or before Congress, or at any Federal or State proceeding regarding any provision (or proposed provision) of either of the statutes named in paragraph (a) of this section; and

(v) Assisting or participating in, or is about to assist or participate in, these activities.

(2) These activities are protected even if no formal proceeding is actually initiated as a result of the employee's assistance or participation.

(3) This section has no application to any employee alleging discrimination prohibited by this section who, acting without direction from his or her employer (or the employer's agent), deliberately causes a violation of any requirement of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

(b) Any employee who believes that he or she has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person for engaging in protected activities specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section may seek a remedy for the discharge or discrimination through an administrative proceeding in the Department of Labor. The administrative proceeding must be initiated within 180 days after an alleged violation occurs. The employee may do this by filing a complaint alleging the violation with the Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division. The Department of Labor may order reinstatement, back pay, and compensatory damages.

(c) A violation of paragraph (a), (e), or (f) of this section by a Commission licensee, certificate holder, applicant for a Commission license or a CoC, or a contractor or subcontractor of any of these may be grounds for:

(1) Denial, revocation, or suspension of the license or the CoC;

(2) Imposition of a civil penalty on the licensee, applicant, or a contractor or subcontractor of the licensee or applicant; or

(3) Other enforcement action.

(d) Actions taken by an employer, or others, which adversely affect an employee may be predicated upon nondiscriminatory grounds. The prohibition applies when the adverse action occurs because the employee has engaged in protected activities. An employee's engagement in protected activities does not automatically render him or her immune from discharge or discipline for legitimate reasons or from adverse action dictated by nonprohibited considerations.

(e)(1) Each licensee, certificate holder, and applicant for a license or CoC must prominently post the current revision of NRC Form 3, “Notice to Employees,” referenced in § 19.11(c) of this chapter. This form must be posted at locations sufficient to permit employees protected by this section to observe a copy on the way to or from their place of work. The premises must be posted not later than 30 days after an application is docketed and remain posted while the application is pending before the Commission, during the term of the license or CoC, and for 30 days following license or CoC termination.

(2) Copies of NRC Form 3 may be obtained by writing to the Regional Administrator of the appropriate U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Office listed in Appendix D to Part 20 of this chapter, via email to [email protected], or by visiting the NRC's online library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/forms/.

(f) No agreement affecting the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including an agreement to settle a complaint filed by an employee with the Department of Labor pursuant to section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, may contain any provision which would prohibit, restrict, or otherwise discourage an employee from participating in a protected activity as defined in paragraph (a)(1) of this section including, but not limited to, providing information to the NRC or to his or her employer on potential violations or other matters within NRC's regulatory responsibilities.

Applications for approval of a package design under this part, which are submitted to the Commission, may be made available for public inspection, in accordance with provisions of parts 2 and 9 of this chapter. This includes an application to amend or revise an existing package design, any associated documents and drawings submitted with the application, and any responses to NRC requests for additional information.

Each licensee, certificate holder, or applicant for a Certificate of Compliance for a transportation package for transport of irradiated reactor fuel, strategic special nuclear material, a critical mass of special nuclear material, or byproduct material in quantities determined by the Commission through order or regulation to be significant to the public health and safety or the common defense and security, shall protect Safeguards Information against unauthorized disclosure in accordance with the requirements in § 73.21 and the requirements of § 73.22 or § 73.23 of this chapter, as applicable.