(a) Immediate report. Each licensee shall notify the NRC as soon as possible but not later than 4 hours after the discovery of an event that prevents immediate protective actions necessary to avoid exposures to radiation or radioactive materials that could exceed regulatory limits or releases of licensed material that could exceed regulatory limits (events may include fires, explosions, toxic gas releases, etc.).

(b) Twenty-four hour report. Each licensee shall notify the NRC within 24 hours after the discovery of any of the following events involving licensed material:

(1) An unplanned contamination event that:

(i) Requires access to the contaminated area, by workers or the public, to be restricted for more than 24 hours by imposing additional radiological controls or by prohibiting entry into the area;

(ii) Involves a quantity of material greater than five times the lowest annual limit on intake specified in appendix B of §§20.1001-20.2401 of 10 CFR part 20 for the material; and

(iii) Has access to the area restricted for a reason other than to allow isotopes with a half-life of less than 24 hours to decay prior to decontamination.

(2) An event in which equipment is disabled or fails to function as designed when:

(i) The equipment is required by regulation or license condition to prevent releases exceeding regulatory limits, to prevent exposures to radiation and radioactive materials exceeding regulatory limits, or to mitigate the consequences of an accident;

(ii) The equipment is required to be available and operable when it is disabled or fails to function; and

(iii) No redundant equipment is available and operable to perform the required safety function.

(3) An event that requires unplanned medical treatment at a medical facility of an individual with spreadable radioactive contamination on the individual's clothing or body.

(4) An unplanned fire or explosion damaging any licensed material or any device, container, or equipment containing licensed material when:

(i) The quantity of material involved is greater than five times the lowest annual limit on intake specified in appendix B of §§20.1001-20.2401 of 10 CFR part 20 for the material; and

(ii) The damage affects the integrity of the licensed material or its container.

(c) Preparation and submission of reports. Reports made by licensees in response to the requirements of this section must be made as follows:

(1) Licensees shall make reports required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section by telephone to the NRC Operations Center.1 To the extent that the information is available at the time of notification, the information provided in these reports must include:

(i) The caller's name and call back telephone number;

(ii) A description of the event, including date and time;

(iii) The exact location of the event;

(iv) The isotopes, quantities, and chemical and physical form of the licensed material involved; and

(v) Any personnel radiation exposure data available.

(2) Written report. Each licensee who makes a report required by paragraph (a) or (b) of this section shall submit a written follow-up report within 30 days of the initial report. Written reports prepared pursuant to other regulations may be submitted to fulfill this requirement if the reports contain all of the necessary information and the appropriate distribution is made. These written reports must be sent to the NRC using an appropriate method listed in §30.6(a); and a copy must be sent to the appropriate NRC Regional office listed in appendix D to part 20 of this chapter. The reports must include the following:

(i) A description of the event, including the probable cause and the manufacturer and model number (if applicable) of any equipment that failed or malfunctioned;

(ii) The exact location of the event;

(iii) The isotopes, quantities, and chemical and physical form of the licensed material involved;

(iv) Date and time of the event;

(v) Corrective actions taken or planned and the results of any evaluations or assessments; and

(vi) The extent of exposure of individuals to radiation or to radioactive materials without identification of individuals by name.

(3) The provisions of §30.50 do not apply to licensees subject to the notification requirements in §50.72. They do apply to those part 50 licensees possessing material licensed under part 30, who are not subject to the notification requirements in §50.72.

[56 FR 40767, Aug. 16, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 14086, Mar. 25, 1994; 68 FR 58804, Oct. 10, 2003]