Summary of Federal Laws

 

Environmental Laws                                               

Compliance Partners

Radiation Safety Officer

 

Atomic Energy Act

 

42 U.S.C. § 2134 et seq.; 10 C.F.R. Part 20 et seq., and 10 C.F.R. Part 35

 

This Act is the fundamental U.S. law on both the civilian and the military uses of nuclear materials. On the civilian side, it provides for both the development and the regulation of the uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States, declaring the policy that "the development, use, and control of atomic energy shall be directed so as to promote world peace, improve the general welfare, increase the standard of living, and strengthen free competition in private enterprise." The Act requires that civilian uses of nuclear materials and facilities be licensed, and it empowers the NRC to establish by rule or order, and to enforce, such standards to govern these uses as "the Commission may deem necessary or desirable in order to protect health and safety and minimize danger to life or property." Commission action under the Act must conform to the Act’s procedural requirements, which provide an opportunity for hearings and Federal judicial review in many instances.

This law regulates the use of radionuclides.  Any institution that uses radionuclides for research, teaching, or medical applications is subject to the law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources
Nuclear Regulatory Commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CFR updated 10/21/08 rab
links updated 6/12/08 rab

updated 2/25/09 to add Compliance Partner

updated 2/27/09 to add text on law
compliance box links updated 5/12/09 rab