COMPLIANCE RESOURCE CENTER



49 CFR - CHAPTER I - PART 172


§  172.403 Class 7 (radioactive) material.


(a) Unless excepted from labeling by §§  173.421 through 173.427 of this subchapter, each package of radioactive material must be labeled as provided in this section.

(b) The proper label to affix to a package of Class 7 (radioactive) material is based on the radiation level at the surface of the package and the transport index. The proper category of label must be determined in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section. The label to be applied must be the highest category required for any of the two determining conditions for the package. RADIOACTIVE WHITE-I is the lowest category and RADIOACTIVE YELLOW-III is the highest. For example, a package with a transport index of 0.8 and a maximum surface radiation level of 0.6 millisievert (60 millirems) per hour must bear a RADIOACTIVE YELLOW-III label.

(c) Category of label to be applied to Class 7 (radioactive) materials packages:

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Maximum radiation
                                 level at any point
        Transport index           on the external      Label category<SUP>1</SUP>
                                      surface
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0<SUP>2</SUP>............................  Less than or equal   WHITE-I.
                                 to 0.005 mSv/h
                                 (0.5 mrem/h).
More than 0 but not more than   Greater than 0.005   YELLOW-II.
 1.                              mSv/h (0.5 mrem/h)
                                 but less than or
                                 equal to 0.5 mSv/h
                                 (50 mrem/h).
More than 1 but not more than   Greater than 0.5     YELLOW-III.
 10.                             mSv/h (50 mrem/h)
                                 but less than or
                                 equal to 2 mSv/h
                                 (200 mrem/h).
More than 10..................  Greater than 2 mSv/  YELLOW-III (Must be
                                 h (200 mrem/h) but   shipped under
                                 less than or equal   exclusive use
                                 to 10 mSv/h (1,000   provisions; see
                                 mrem/h).             173.441(b) of this
                                                      subchapter).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<SUP>1</SUP>Any package containing a ``highway route controlled quantity'' (Sec.
  173.403 of this subchapter) must be labelled as RADIOACTIVE YELLOW-
  III.
<SUP>2</SUP>If the measured TI is not greater than 0.05, the value may be
  considered to be zero.

(d) EMPTY label. See §  173.428(d) of this subchapter for EMPTY labeling requirements.

(e) [Reserved]

(f) Each package required by this section to be labeled with a RADIOACTIVE label must have two of these labels, affixed to opposite sides of the package. (See §  172.406(e)(3) for freight container label requirements).

(g) The following applicable items of information must be entered in the blank spaces on the RADIOACTIVE label by legible printing (manual or mechanical), using a durable weather resistant means of marking:

(1) Contents. The name of the radionuclides as taken from the listing of radionuclides in §  173.435 of this subchapter (symbols which conform to established radiation protection terminology are authorized, i.e., 99Mo, 60Co, etc.). For mixtures of radionuclides, with consideration of space available on the label, the radionuclides that must be shown must be determined in accordance with §  173.433(f) of this subchapter.

(2) Activity. Activity units must be expressed in appropriate SI units (e.g., Becquerels (Bq), Terabecquerels (Tbq), etc.) or in both appropriate SI units and appropriate customary units (Curies (Ci), MilliCuries (mCi) microCuries (uCi), etc.). Abbreviations are authorized. Except for plutonium-238, plutonium-239, and plutonium-241, the weight in grams or kilograms of fissile radionuclides may be inserted instead of activity units. For plutonium-238, plutonium-239, and plutonium-241, the weight in grams or kilograms of fissile radionuclides may be inserted in addition to the activity units.

(3) Transport index. (See §  173.403 of this subchapter.)

[Amdt. 172-29, 41 FR 15996, Apr. 15, 1976, as amended by Amdt. 172-29A, 41 FR 40679, Sept. 20, 1976; Amdt. 172-78, 48 FR 10226, Mar. 10, 1983; 48 FR 13431, Mar. 31, 1983; 48 FR 31217, July 7, 1983; Amdt. 172-85, 48 FR 50459, Nov. 1, 1983; Amdt. 172-114, 53 FR 38274, Sept. 29, 1988; Amdt. 172-123, 55 FR 52594, Dec. 21, 1990; Amdt. 172-143, 60 FR 50305, Sept. 28, 1995; Amdt. 172-143, 61 FR 20750, May 8, 1996; 65 FR 58626, Sept. 29, 2000; 65 FR 60383, Oct. 11, 2000]