(a) A carrier shall take care to avoid possible inhalation, ingestion, or contact by any person with Class 7 (radioactive) materials that may have been released from their packagings.

(b) When contamination is present or suspected, the package containing a Class 7 material, any loose Class 7 material, associated packaging material, and any other materials that have been contaminated must be segregated as far as practicable from personnel contact until radiological advice or assistance is obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy or appropriate State or local radiological authorities.

(c) An aircraft in which Class 7 (radioactive) material has been released must be taken out of service and may not be returned to service or routinely occupied until the aircraft is checked for radioactive substances and it is determined that any radioactive substances present do not meet the definition of radioactive material, as defined in §173.403 of this subchapter, and it is determined in accordance with §173.443 of this subchapter that the dose rate at every accessible surface must not exceed 0.005 mSv per hour (0.5 mrem per hour) and there is no significant removable surface contamination.

(d) Each aircraft used routinely for transporting Class 7 materials shall be periodically checked for radioactive contamination, and an aircraft must be taken out of service if contamination exceeds the level specified in paragraph (c). The frequency of these checks shall be related to the likelihood of contamination and the extent to which Class 7 materials are transported.

(e) In addition to the reporting requirements of (§§171.15 and 171.16 of this subchapter and §175.31 of this part, an aircraft operator shall notify the offeror at the earliest practicable moment following any incident in which there has been breakage, spillage, or suspected radioactive contamination involving Class 7 (radioactive) materials shipments.

[71 FR 14604, Mar. 22, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 40618, July 11, 2014; 80 FR 1164, Jan. 8, 2015]