10 U.S.C. § 6324: Contractor liability for…

Summary

Treats lawsuits about radiation injury, property loss, injury, or death from U.S. atomic weapons testing as claims against the United States. The usual federal remedies (including 28 U.S.C. 1346(b) and 2672, or applicable parts of Title 46) apply. Those federal remedies are the only way to decide civil liability for contractor acts or failures. Contractor employees are treated as federal employees under 28 U.S.C. 2671 for these cases. If a contractor is sued, it must quickly send the lawsuit papers to the U.S. Attorney General. The Attorney General can certify the case and move it from state court to federal district court without bond before trial, and that certification conclusively shows the defendant is a covered contractor. Applies to cases pending on or started on or after November 5, 1990. If a case pending on that date was dismissed for not filing the required administrative claim, the plaintiff has 30 days from dismissal or two years from when the claim accrued, whichever is later, to file the claim. Contractor — includes contractors and cost‑reimbursement subcontractors of any tier who took part in the U.S. atomic weapons testing program for the Department of Energy or its predecessors (Manhattan Engineer District, Atomic Energy Commission, Energy Research and Development Administration). Also covers facilities that did research on health effects of ionizing radiation under such contracts.

Title 10, §6324

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Short Title.—

This section may be cited as the “Atomic Energy Testing Liability Act”.

(b)Federal Remedies Applicable; Exclusiveness of Remedies.—

(1)The remedy against the United States provided by section 1346(b) and 2672 of title 28, or by chapter 309 or 311 of title 46, as appropriate, for injury, loss of property, personal injury, or death shall apply to any civil action for injury, loss of property, personal injury, or death due to exposure to radiation based on acts or omissions by a contractor in carrying out an atomic weapons testing program under a contract with the United States.

(2)The remedies referred to in paragraph (1) shall be exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding for the purpose of determining civil liability arising from any act or omission of the contractor without regard to when the act or omission occurred. The employees of a contractor referred to in paragraph (1) shall be considered to be employees of the Federal Government, as provided in section 2671 of title 28, for the purposes of any such civil action or proceeding; and the civil action or proceeding shall proceed in the same manner as any action against the United States filed pursuant to section 1346(b) of such title and shall be subject to the limitations and exceptions applicable to those actions.

(c)Procedure.—

A contractor against whom a civil action or proceeding described in subsection (b) is brought shall promptly deliver all processes served upon that contractor to the Attorney General of the United States. Upon certification by the Attorney General that the suit against the contractor is within the provisions of subsection (b), a civil action or proceeding commenced in a State court shall be removed without bond at any time before trial by the Attorney General to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending and the proceedings shall be deemed a tort action brought against the United States under the provisions of section 1346(b), 2401(b), or 2402, or sections 2671 through 2680 of title 28. For purposes of removal, the certification by the Attorney General under this subsection establishes contractor status conclusively.

(d)Actions Covered.—

The provisions of this section shall apply to any action, within the provisions of subsection (b), which is pending on November 5, 1990, or commenced on or after such date. Notwithstanding section 2401(b) of title 28, if a civil action or proceeding to which this section applies is pending on November 5, 1990, and is dismissed because the plaintiff in such action or proceeding did not file an administrative claim as required by section 2672 of that title, the plaintiff in that action or proceeding shall have 30 days from the date of the dismissal or two years from the date upon which the claim accrued, whichever is later, to file an administrative claim, and any claim or subsequent civil action or proceeding shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of section 2401(b) of title 28.

(e)Contractor Defined.—

For purposes of this section, the term “contractor” includes a contractor or cost reimbursement subcontractor of any tier participating in the conduct of the United States atomic weapons testing program for the Department of Energy (or its predecessor agencies, including the Manhattan Engineer District, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Energy Research and Development Administration). Such term also includes facilities which conduct or have conducted research concerning health effects of ionizing radiation in connection with the testing under contract with the Department of Energy (or any of its predecessor agencies).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6324 was renumbered section 8324 of this title. Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2783 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(b)(1).

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(B) realigned margins. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(A), struck out pars. (1) and (2) headings which read as follows: “Remedy” and “Exclusivity”, respectively.

§6324 Contractor Liability for Injury or Loss of Property Arising Out of Atomic Weapons Testing Programs