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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§2114 Authorities of Commission Respecting Certain Byproduct Material

Title 42 › CHAPTER 23 — DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY › SUBCHAPTER VII — BYPRODUCT MATERIALS › § 2114

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Commission must make sure any byproduct material (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 2014(e)(2)) is handled so it does not harm people or the environment. It must consider risks, costs, and other relevant factors. The Commission’s rules must follow the EPA’s general standards under section 2022 and must, with the EPA Administrator’s agreement, be at least as strict as comparable rules for similar hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), whenever practical. The Commission can require people who are exempt from licensing under section 2111 to do monitoring, cleanup, or other actions needed to protect health and safety around disposal or storage sites. The Commission can also do studies, inspections, and monitoring. Violations by anyone other than the United States or its officers or employees, or a State, may get civil penalties like those under section 2282. Licensees of ore-processing or byproduct disposal sites may propose alternative measures that account for local conditions (for example, geology or weather). The Commission may accept those alternatives if they provide equal or better cleanup, containment, and protection than the Commission’s rules and any final EPA standards under section 2022. This does not limit the Commission’s other authorities.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §2114

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

(a)Management function
The Commission shall insure that the management of any byproduct material, as defined in section 2014(e)(2) of this title, is carried out in such manner as—
(1)the Commission deems appropriate to protect the public health and safety and the environment from radiological and non-radiological hazards associated with the processing and with the possession and transfer of such material, taking into account the risk to the public health, safety, and the environment, with due consideration of the economic costs and such other factors as the Commission determines to be appropriate,,
(2)conforms with applicable general standards promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 2022 of this title, and
(3)conforms to general requirements established by the Commission, with the concurrence of the Administrator, which are, to the maximum extent practicable, at least comparable to requirements applicable to the possession, transfer, and disposal of similar hazardous material regulated by the Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended [42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.].
(b)Rules, regulations, or orders for certain activities; civil penalty
In carrying out its authority under this section, the Commission is authorized to—
(1)by rule, regulation, or order require persons, officers, or instrumentalities exempted from licensing under section 2111 of this title to conduct monitoring, perform remedial work, and to comply with such other measures as it may deem necessary or desirable to protect health or to minimize danger to life or property, and in connection with the disposal or storage of such byproduct material; and
(2)make such studies and inspections and to conduct such monitoring as may be necessary.
Any violation by any person other than the United States or any officer or employee of the United States or a State of any rule, regulation, or order or licensing provision, of the Commission established under this section or section 2113 of this title shall be subject to a civil penalty in the same manner and in the same amount as violations subject to a civil penalty under section 2282 of this title. Nothing in this section affects any authority of the Commission under any other provision of this chapter.
(c)Alternative requirements or proposals
In the case of sites at which ores are processed primarily for their source material content or which are used for the disposal of byproduct material as defined in section 2014(e)(2) of this title, a licensee may propose alternatives to specific requirements adopted and enforced by the Commission under this chapter. Such alternative proposals may take into account local or regional conditions, including geology, topography, hydrology and meteorology. The Commission may treat such alternatives as satisfying Commission requirements if the Commission determines that such alternatives will achieve a level of stabilization and containment of the sites concerned, and a level of protection for public health, safety, and the environment from radiological and nonradiological hazards associated with such sites, which is equivalent to, to the extent practicable, or more stringent than the level which would be achieved by standards and requirements adopted and enforced by the Commission for the same purpose and any final standards promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with section 2022 of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is title II of Pub. L. 89–272, 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. This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c), 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.

Amendments

1983—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 97–415, § 22(a), inserted provision that the Commission is to take into account the risk to the public health, safety, and the environment, with due consideration of the economic costs and such other factors as the Commission determines to be appropriate. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–415, § 20, added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Nov. 8, 1978, see section 208 of Pub. L. 95–604, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1978 Amendment note under section 2014 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 2114

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110