republic-os/legal/us/code/title-42/chapter-23/section-2273.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	42 U.S.C. § 2273	Violation of sections	us	united_states_code	code_section	42	THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE	23	DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY	2273	42 U.S.C. § 2273	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc42@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t42/s2273	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-42/usc42.xml	dfb22778c2883578049cc8aa475e0ffebafe504b9e3c50206d78aba2872e9dac	644321055a08eb1f260a6a3e31ac157fa024756abf612a9fd6857e7e400cf24e	5f4b1014efc59b4901f136f060dda8b535ae310d557d7d2720b3b74827f05fc4	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

42 U.S.C. § 2273 - Violation of sections

Text

(a) Generally Whoever willfully violates, attempts to violate, or conspires to violate, any provision of this chapter for which no criminal penalty is specifically provided or of any regulation or order prescribed or issued under section 2095 or 2201(b), (i), or (o) of this title shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, except that whoever commits such an offense with intent to injure the United States or with intent to secure an advantage to any foreign nation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $20,000 or by imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both.

(b) Construction or supply of components for utilization facilities; impairment of basic components; “basic component” defined; posting at construction sites of utilization facilities and on premises of component fabrication plants Any individual director, officer, or employee of a firm constructing, or supplying the components of any utilization facility required to be licensed under section 2133 or 2134(b) of this title who by act or omission, in connection with such construction or supply, knowingly and willfully violates or causes to be violated, any section of this chapter, any rule, regulation, or order issued thereunder, or any license condition, which violation results, or if undetected could have resulted, in a significant impairment of a basic component of such a facility shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $25,000 for each day of violation, or to imprisonment not to exceed two years, or both. If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction under this subsection, punishment shall be a fine of not more than $50,000 per day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “basic component” means a facility structure, system, component or part thereof necessary to assure—

(1) the integrity of the reactor coolant pressure boundary,

(2) the capability to shut-down the facility and maintain it in a safe shut-down condition, or

(3) the capability to prevent or mitigate the consequences of accidents which could result in an unplanned offsite release of quantities of fission products in excess of the limits established by the Commission.

The provisions of this subsection shall be prominently posted at each site where a utilization facility required to be licensed under section 2133 or 2134(b) of this title is under construction and on the premises of each plant where components for such a facility are fabricated.

(c) Criminal penalties Any individual director, officer or employee of a person indemnified under an agreement of indemnification under section 2210(d) of this title (or of a subcontractor or supplier thereto) who, by act or omission, knowingly and willfully violates or causes to be violated any section of this chapter or any applicable nuclear safety-related rule, regulation or order issued thereunder by the Secretary of Energy (or expressly incorporated by reference by the Secretary for purposes of nuclear safety, except any rule, regulation, or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation), which violation results in or, if undetected, would have resulted in a nuclear incident as defined in section 2014(q) of this title shall, upon conviction, notwithstanding section 3571 of title 18, be subject to a fine of not more than $25,000, or to imprisonment not to exceed two years, or both. If the conviction is for a violation committed after the first conviction under this subsection, notwithstanding section 3571 of title 18, punishment shall be a fine of not more than $50,000, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, § 223, as added Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, § 1, 68 Stat. 958; amended Pub. L. 90–190, § 12, Dec. 14, 1967, 81 Stat. 578; Pub. L. 91–161, § 6, Dec. 24, 1969, 83 Stat. 445; Pub. L. 96–295, title II, § 203, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 786; Pub. L. 100–408, § 18, Aug. 20, 1988, 102 Stat. 1083; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 102–486, title IX, § 902(a)(8), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2944.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

References in TextThis chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning act Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, as added by act Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, § 1, 68 Stat. 919, known as the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2011 of this title and Tables.

Amendments1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–408 added subsec. (c). 1980—Pub. L. 96–295 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1969—Pub. L. 91–161 limited application of section to instances where no criminal penalties have been provided. 1967—Pub. L. 90–190 substituted “(o)” for “(p)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–408 effective Aug. 20, 1988, but inapplicable to any violation occurring before Aug. 20, 1988, see section 20 of Pub. L. 100–408, set out as a note under section 2014 of this title.