(a) A chest roentgenogram (X-ray) shall be of suitable quality for
proper classification of pneumoconiosis and shall conform to the
standards for administration and interpretation of chest X-rays as
described in Appendix A.
(b) A chest X-ray to establish the existence of pneumoconiosis
shall be classified as Category 1, 2, 3, A, B, or C, according to the
International Labour Organization Union Internationale Contra Cancer/
Cincinnati (1971) International Classification of Radiographs of the
Pneumoconioses (ILO-U/C 1971), or subsequent revisions thereof. This
document is available from the Division of Coal Mine Workers'
Compensation in the U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.,
telephone (202) 693-0046, and from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), located in Cincinnati, Ohio,
telephone (513) 841-4428) and Morgantown, West Virginia, telephone
(304) 285-5749. A chest X-ray classified as Category Z under the ILO
Classification (1958) or Short Form (1968) shall be reclassified as
Category 0 or Category 1 as appropriate, and only the latter accepted
as evidence of pneumoconiosis. A chest X-ray classified under any of
the foregoing classifications as Category 0, including sub-categories
0--, 0/0, or 0/1 under the UICC/Cincinnati (1968) Classification or the
ILO-U/C 1971 Classification does not constitute evidence of
pneumoconiosis.
(c) A description and interpretation of the findings in terms of
the classifications described in paragraph (b) of this section shall be
submitted by the examining physician along with the film. The report
shall specify the name and qualifications of the person who took the
film and the name and qualifications of the physician interpreting the
film. If the physician interpreting the film is a Board-certified or
Board-eligible radiologist or a certified ``B'' reader (see
Sec. 718.202), he or she shall so indicate. The report shall further
specify that the film was interpreted in compliance with this
paragraph.
(d) The original film on which the X-ray report is based shall be
supplied to the Office, unless prohibited by law, in which event the
report shall be considered as evidence only if the original film is
otherwise available to the Office and other parties. Where the chest X-
ray of a deceased miner has been lost, destroyed or is otherwise
unavailable, a report of a chest X-ray submitted by any party shall be
considered in connection with the claim.
(e) Except as provided in this paragraph, no chest X-ray shall
constitute evidence of the presence or absence of pneumoconiosis unless
it is conducted and reported in accordance with the requirements of
this section and Appendix A. In the absence of evidence to the
contrary, compliance with the requirements of Appendix A shall be
presumed. In the case of a deceased miner where the only available X-
ray does not substantially comply with paragraphs (a) through (d), such
X-ray may form the basis for a finding of the presence or absence of
pneumoconiosis if it is of sufficient quality for determining the
presence or absence of pneumoconiosis and such X-ray was interpreted by
a Board-certified or Board-eligible radiologist or a certified ``B''
reader (see Sec. 718.202).
