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

§2111 Domestic Distribution

Title 42 › Chapter 23— DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY › Subchapter VII— BYPRODUCT MATERIALS › § 2111

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

You may not make, move, sell, buy, import, export, or keep "byproduct material" unless the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) allows it. The Commission can give general or specific licenses to use these materials for research, medical treatment, industry, farming, or other useful purposes. The Commission can also give, sell, loan, or lease the materials it owns to qualified people. If it charges, prices must fairly pay the government, not stop people from using the material or from finding other suppliers, and should encourage research. The Commission will favor research and medical uses. It must refuse or recall material from anyone who cannot or will not follow safety rules. The Commission can create categories of material and exempt small amounts, uses, or users when it finds no unreasonable risk to national defense or public health and safety. These materials must be sent to and disposed of only at disposal sites that protect health and safety and that are licensed by the Commission or by a State with a compatible agreement with the Commission. This does not change any authority to dispose of such material under Federal or State solid or hazardous waste laws, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.). Material disposed under these rules is not treated as low-level radioactive waste for section 2 of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021b) or for compacts entered under that Act and approved by Congress.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §2111

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

(a)No person may transfer or receive in interstate commerce, manufacture, produce, transfer, acquire, own, possess, import, or export any byproduct material, except to the extent authorized by this section, section 2112 or section 2114 of this title. The Commission is authorized to issue general or specific licenses to applicants seeking to use byproduct material for research or development purposes, for medical therapy, industrial uses, agricultural uses, or such other useful applications as may be developed. The Commission may distribute, sell, loan, or lease such byproduct material as it owns to qualified applicants with or without charge: Provided, however, That, for byproduct material to be distributed by the Commission for a charge, the Commission shall establish prices on such equitable basis as, in the opinion of the Commission, (a) will provide reasonable compensation to the Government for such material, (b) will not discourage the use of such material or the development of sources of supply of such material independent of the Commission, and (c) will encourage research and development. In distributing such material, the Commission shall give preference to applicants proposing to use such material either in the conduct of research and development or in medical therapy. The Commission shall not permit the distribution of any byproduct material to any licensee, and shall recall or order the recall of any distributed material from any licensee, who is not equipped to observe or who fails to observe such safety standards to protect health as may be established by the Commission or who uses such material in violation of law or regulation of the Commission or in a manner other than as disclosed in the application therefor or approved by the Commission. The Commission is authorized to establish classes of byproduct material and to exempt certain classes or quantities of material or kinds of uses or users from the requirements for a license set forth in this section when it makes a finding that the exemption of such classes or quantities of such material or such kinds of uses or users will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common defense and security and to the health and safety of the public.
(b)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), byproduct material, as defined in paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 2014(e) of this title, may only be transferred to and disposed of in a disposal facility that—
(A)is adequate to protect public health and safety; and
(B)(i)is licensed by the Commission; or
(ii)is licensed by a State that has entered into an agreement with the Commission under section 2021(b) of this title, if the licensing requirements of the State are compatible with the licensing requirements of the Commission.
(2)Nothing in this subsection affects the authority of any entity to dispose of byproduct material, as defined in paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 2014(e) of this title, at a disposal facility in accordance with any Federal or State solid or hazardous waste law, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
(c)Byproduct material, as defined in paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 2014(e) of this title, disposed of under this section shall not be considered to be low-level radioactive waste for the purposes of—
(1)section 2 of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021b); or
(2)carrying out a compact that is—
(A)entered into in accordance with that Act (42 U.S.C. 2021b et seq.); and
(B)approved by Congress.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Solid Waste Disposal Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is title II of Pub. L. 89–272, Oct. 20, 1965, 79 Stat. 997, as amended generally by Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2795, which is classified generally to chapter 82 (§ 6901 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 6901 of this title and Tables. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(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.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 1805(c)(2) of this title, prior to the general amendment and renumbering of act Aug. 1, 1946, by act Aug. 30, 1954.

Amendments

2005—Pub. L. 109–58 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1978—Pub. L. 95–604 inserted reference to section 2114 of this title. 1974—Pub. L. 93–377 substituted “qualified applicants with or without charge” for “licensees with or without charge”, and struck out “Licensees of the Commission may distribute byproduct material only to applicants therefor who are licensed by the Commission to receive such byproduct material” before “The Commission shall not”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 2111

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60