§6724 Procedures for inspections

Summary

Inspections of plants, sites, or other places in the United States under the Convention must follow these rules. The U.S. National Authority must give written notice to the owner and to whoever runs or occupies the place before an inspection. For routine inspections that notice must be sent within six hours after the U.S. receives the inspection request or as soon as possible after that. For challenge inspections, notice can be given at a time the U.S. authority decides. If the U.S. cannot hand the notice to someone, it may post the notice where it can be seen. Each inspection needs its own notice. The notice must say the type of inspection, why the site was chosen, when the inspection will start and how long it covers, and the inspectors’ names and titles. For challenge inspections the notice must also include the reasons or evidence the requesting country gave. The lead inspector and any U.S. staff (and U.S. contractors for government sites) must show ID before starting. Inspections must be done quickly, at reasonable times, and in a reasonable way. They may check anything on the site that relates to following the Convention, unless a warrant or a special facility agreement says otherwise. Inspections must not look at certain kinds of information unless the Convention requires it, such as financial, sales/marketing (except shipment records), pricing, personnel, research, patent data, environmental or workplace-safety compliance records, or data about who and what vehicles enter and personal passenger vehicles that leave. The U.S. National Authority’s director can require samples to be given to inspectors. The owner or operator decides who will take the samples. Samples taken in the U.S. cannot be sent to labs outside the United States. Inspectors and accompanying U.S. staff must follow the site’s safety and clean-room rules. If U.S. representatives are present, they should help the owner or operator deal with the inspection team.