[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR172.403]

[Page 382-384]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
   CHAPTER I--PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, 
                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 172_HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TABLE, SPECIAL PROVISIONS, HAZARDOUS 
MATERIALS COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION, AND 
 
                           Subpart E_Labeling
 
Sec.  172.403  Class 7 (radioactive) material.

    (a) Unless excepted from labeling by Sec.  Sec.  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:

[[Page 383]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Maximum radiation
                                 level at any point
        Transport index           on the external     Label category \1\
                                      surface
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0\2\..........................  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).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Any package containing a ``highway route controlled quantity'' (Sec.  
    173.403 of this subchapter) must be labelled as RADIOACTIVE YELLOW-
  III.
\2\ If the measured TI is not greater than 0.05, the value may be
  considered to be zero.

    (d) EMPTY label. See Sec.  173.428(d) of this subchapter for EMPTY 
labeling requirements.
    (e) FISSILE label. For packages required in Sec.  172.402 to bear a 
FISSILE label, each such label must be completed with the criticality 
safety index (CSI) assigned in the NRC or DOE package design approval, 
or in the certificate of approval for special arrangement or the 
certificate of approval for the package design issued by the Competent 
Authority for import and export shipments. For overpacks and freight 
containers required in Sec.  172.402 to bear a FISSILE label, the CSI on 
the label must be the sum of the CSIs for all of the packages contained 
in the overpack or freight container.
    (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 Sec.  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. Except for LSA-1 material, the names of the 
radionuclides as taken from the listing of radionuclides in Sec.  
173.435 of this subchapter (symbols which conform to established 
radiation protection terminology are authorized, i.e., \99\Mo, \60\Co, 
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 Sec.  173.433(g) of this subchapter. For 
LSA-I material, the term ``LSA-I'' may be used in place of the names of 
the radionuclides.
    (2) Activity. The activity in the package must be expressed in 
appropriate SI units (e.g., Becquerels (Bq), Terabecquerels (TBq), 
etc.). The activity may also be stated in appropriate customary units 
(Curies (Ci), milliCuries (mCi), microCuries (uCi), etc.) in parentheses 
following the SI units. Abbreviations are authorized. Except for 
plutonium-239 and plutonium-241, the weight in grams or kilograms of 
fissile radionuclides may be inserted instead of activity units. For 
plutonium-239 and plutonium-241, the weight in grams of fissile 
radionuclides may be inserted in addition to the activity units.
    (3) Transport index. (see Sec.  173.403 of this subchapter.)
    (h) When one or more packages of Class 7 (radioactive) material are 
placed within an overpack, the overpack must be labeled as prescribed in 
this section, except as follows:
    (1) The ``contents'' entry on the label may state ``mixed'' in place 
of the names of the radionuclides unless each inside package contains 
the same radionuclide(s).
    (2) The ``activity'' entry on the label must be determined by adding 
together the number of becquerels of the Class 7 (radioactive) materials 
packages contained therein.
    (3) For an overpack, the transport index (TI) must be determined by 
adding together the transport indices of the Class 7 (radioactive) 
materials packages contained therein, except that for a rigid overpack, 
the transport

[[Page 384]]

index (TI) may alternatively be determined by direct measurement as 
prescribed in Sec.  173.403 of this subchapter under the definition for 
``transport index,'' taken by the person initially offering the packages 
contained within the overpack for shipment.
    (4) The category of Class 7 label for the overpack must be 
determined from the table in Sec.  172.403(c) using the TI derived 
according to paragraph (h)(3) of this section, and the maximum radiation 
level on the surface of the overpack.
    (5) The category of the Class 7 label of the overpack, and not that 
of any of the packages contained therein, must be used in accordance 
with Table 1 of Sec.  172.504(e) to determine when the transport vehicle 
must be placarded.
    (6) For fissile material, the criticality safety index which must be 
entered on the overpack FISSILE label is the sum of the criticality 
safety indices of the individual packages in the overpack, as stated in 
the certificate of approval for the package design issued by the NRC or 
the U.S. Competent Authority.

[Amdt. 172-29, 41 FR 15996, Apr. 15, 1976]

    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec.  
172.403, see the List of CFR Sections Affected which appears in the 
Finding Aids section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.