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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73not60

§2023 State Authority to Regulate Radiation Below Level of Regulatory Concern of Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Title 42 › Chapter 23— DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY › Subchapter I— GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 2023

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

States may regulate the disposal or off-site burning of low-level radioactive waste for radiation safety if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission removes that waste from its rules after October 24, 1992. That rule does not take away any existing state powers, and except for that specific situation it does not give states new authority over activities the NRC already licenses. Low-level radioactive waste = material the NRC called low-level radioactive waste on October 24, 1992. Off-site incineration = burning at a place away from where the material was made. State = the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories and possessions.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §2023

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)No provision of this chapter, or of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act [42 U.S.C. 2021b et seq.], may be construed to prohibit or otherwise restrict the authority of any State to regulate, on the basis of radiological hazard, the disposal or off-site incineration of low-level radioactive waste, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after October 24, 1992, exempts such waste from regulation.
(b)This section may not be construed to imply preemption of existing State authority. Except as expressly provided in subsection (a), this section may not be construed to confer on any State any additional authority to regulate activities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(c)For purposes of this section:
(1)The term “low-level radioactive waste” means radioactive material classified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as low-level radioactive waste on October 24, 1992.
(2)The term “off-site incineration” means any incineration of radioactive materials at a facility that is located off the site where such materials were generated.
(3)The term “State” means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “this Act”, meaning act Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, as added by act Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, § 1, 68 Stat. 919, known as the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2011 of this title and Tables. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 96–573, as amended generally by Pub. L. 99–240, title I, § 102, Jan. 15, 1986, 99 Stat. 1842, which is classified generally to section 2021b et seq. of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2021b of this title and Tables.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 2023

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60