18 U.S.C. § 841 — Definitions

As used in this chapter— **(a)** “Person” means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company. **(b)** “Interstate” or foreign commerce means commerce between any place in a State and any place outside of that State, or within any possession of the United States (not including the Canal Zone) or the District of Columbia, and commerce between places within the same State but through any place outside of that State. “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States (not including the Canal Zone). **(c)** “Explosive materials” means explosives, blasting agents, and detonators. **(d)** Except for the purposes of subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) of [section 844 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section844&num=0&edition=prelim), “explosives” means any chemical compound mixture, or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion; the term includes, but is not limited to, dynamite and other high explosives, black powder, pellet powder, initiating explosives, detonators, safety fuses, squibs, detonating cord, igniter cord, and igniters. The Attorney General shall publish and revise at least annually in the Federal Register a list of these and any additional explosives which he determines to be within the coverage of this chapter. For the purposes of subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of [section 844 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section844&num=0&edition=prelim), the term “explosive” is defined in subsection (j) of such section 844. **(e)** “Blasting agent” means any material or mixture, consisting of fuel and oxidizer, intended for blasting, not otherwise defined as an explosive: Provided, That the finished product, as mixed for use or shipment, cannot be detonated by means of a numbered 8 test blasting cap when unconfined. **(f)** “Detonator” means any device containing a detonating charge that is used for initiating detonation in an explosive; the term includes, but is not limited to, electric blasting caps of instantaneous and delay types, blasting caps for use with safety fuses and detonating-cord delay connectors. **(g)** “Importer” means any person engaged in the business of importing or bringing explosive materials into the United States for purposes of sale or distribution. **(h)** “Manufacturer” means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing explosive materials for purposes of sale or distribution or for his own use. **(i)** “Dealer” means any person engaged in the business of distributing explosive materials at wholesale or retail. **(j)** “Permittee” means any user of explosives for a lawful purpose, who has obtained either a user permit or a limited permit under the provisions of this chapter. **(k)** “Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States. **(l)** “Crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” shall not mean (1) any Federal or State offenses pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices as the Attorney General may by regulation designate, or (2) any State offense (other than one involving a firearm or explosive) classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less. **(m)** “Licensee” means any importer, manufacturer, or dealer licensed under the provisions of this chapter. **(n)** “Distribute” means sell, issue, give, transfer, or otherwise dispose of. **(o)** “Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives” means the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, Done at Montreal on 1 March 1991. **(p)** “Detection agent” means any one of the substances specified in this subsection when introduced into a plastic explosive or formulated in such explosive as a part of the manufacturing process in such a manner as to achieve homogeneous distribution in the finished explosive, including— (1) Ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN), C2H4(NO3)2, molecular weight 152, when the minimum concentration in the finished explosive is 0.2 percent by mass; (2) 2,3-Dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB), C6H12(NO2)2, molecular weight 176, when the minimum concentration in the finished explosive is 0.1 percent by mass; (3) Para-Mononitrotoluene (p-MNT), C7H7NO2, molecular weight 137, when the minimum concentration in the finished explosive is 0.5 percent by mass; (4) Ortho-Mononitrotoluene (o-MNT), C7H7NO2, molecular weight 137, when the minimum concentration in the finished explosive is 0.5 percent by mass; and (5) any other substance in the concentration specified by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, that has been added to the table in part 2 of the Technical Annex to the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives. **(q)** “Plastic explosive” means an explosive material in flexible or elastic sheet form formulated with one or more high explosives which in their pure form has a vapor pressure less than 10−4 Pa at a temperature of 25°C., is formulated with a binder material, and is as a mixture malleable or flexible at normal room temperature. **(r)** “Alien” means any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. **(s)** “Responsible person” means an individual who has the power to direct the management and policies of the applicant pertaining to explosive materials. **(t) Indian Tribe 11 So in original. Probably should not be capitalized..—** The term “Indian tribe” has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ([25 U.S.C. 479a](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title25-section479a&num=0&edition=prelim))).22 So in original. The second closing parenthesis probably should not appear.\, \33 See References in Text note below.