10 C.F.R. § 140.84

Criterion I—Substantial discharge of radioactive material or substantial radiation levels offsite

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The Commission will determine that there has been a substantial discharge or dispersal of radioactive material offsite, or that there have been substantial levels of radiation offsite, when, as a result of an event comprised of one or more related happenings, radioactive material is released from its intended place of confinement or radiation levels occur offsite and either of the following findings are also made:

(a) The Commission finds that one or more persons offsite were, could have been, or might be exposed to radiation or to radioactive material, resulting in a dose or in a projected dose in excess of one of the levels in the following table:

Total Projected Radiation Doses

Critical organDose (rems)
Thyroid30
Whole body20
Bone marrow20
Skin60
Other organs or tissues30
Exposures from the following types of sources of radiation shall be included:

(1) Radiation from sources external to the body;

(2) Radioactive material that may be taken into the body from its occurrence in air or water; and

(3) Radioactive material that may be taken into the body from its occurrence in food or on terrestrial surfaces.

(b) The Commission finds that:

(1) Surface contamination of at least a total of any 100 square meters of offsite property has occurred as the result of a release of radioactive material from a production or utilization facility and such contamination is characterized by levels of radiation in excess of one of the values listed in Column 1 or Column 2 of the following table, or

(2) Surface contamination of any offsite property has occurred as the result of a release of radioactive material in the course of transportation and such contamination is characterized by levels of radiation in excess of one of the values listed in column 2 of the following table:

Total Surface Contamination Levels 1

Type of emitterColumn 1 Offsite property, contiguous to site, owned or leased by person with whom an indemnity agreement is executedColumn 2 Other offsite property
Alpha emission from transuranic isotopes3.5 microcuries per square meter0.35 microcuries per square meter.
Alpha emission from isotopes other than transuranic isotopes35 microcuries per square meter3.5 microcuries per square meter.
Beta or gamma mission40 millirads/hour @ 1 cm.24 millirads/hour @ 1 cm.2
1 The maximum levels (above background), observed or projected, 8 or more hours after initial deposition.
2 Measured through not more than 7 milligrams per square centimeter of total absorber.
[33 FR 15999, Oct. 31, 1968, as amended at 40 FR 8794, Mar. 3, 1975]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1986–2023 · leading case: In Re TMI Litig. Consol. Proceedings, 927 F. Supp. 834 (M.D. Penn. 1996).
In Re TMI Litig. Consol. Proceedings, 927 F. Supp. 834 (M.D. Penn. 1996). “” NUREG0637, Report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from the Staff Panel on the Commission's Determination of an Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence (ENO) at 8 (NRC 1980).”
Kiick v. Metro. Edison Co., 784 F.2d 490 (3rd Cir. 1986). “Moreover, given the highly technical nature of the criteria employed to make this determination, see 10 C.F.R. §§ 140.84 , 140.85 (1985), courts — both trial and appellate— are, at best, ill-equipped to assess whether such allegations are frivolous or not.”
Mazzocchio v. Cotter Corp. (E.D. Mo. 2023). “See 10 C.F.R. §§ 140.84 and 140.85. alone. . .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.