APPROVALS PROCESS A CONSISTENT APPROACH BY INDUSTRY

The continued ability to transport radioactive material in the public domain is of key strategic importance to the long term viability of the industry. It is essential that all processes involving transporting packages containing radioactive material are carried out in compliance with all regulations and to a consistent high standard. The assessment/approval process and documentation thereof for packages not requiring competent authority approval (self assessment package types) is a matter of interpretation of the IAEA regulations versus individual organisations documentation quality standards. This can cause some inconsistency within the industry and as a result confusion amongst users. The challenge is to agree and implement a consistent approach for the approval process for non CA approved packages. In the UK this challenge was taken up by the industry group Transport Container Standardisation Committee (TCSC). International Nuclear Services is a member of the TCSC. The objective of the TCSC is to examine the requirements for the safe transport of radioactive material with a view to standardisation through developing guidance documents relating to radioactive materials transport. TCSC carried out research to identify all regulations and standards within the UK nuclear industry and the processes involved in the assessment of non CA approved packages. Attention was paid to both the graded approach and the IAEA regulatory requirements for such packages and as a result the following guidance document emerged during 2006. Approval of Radioactive Material Transport Packages which do not require Competent Authority Approval, TCSC 1078 – July 2006 TCSC 1078 is a UK industry interpretation of the key IAEA terminology in respect of the approval process for non CA approved packages and has used the appropriate information from the UK competent authority applicants guide to promote consistency throughout. TCSC 1078 provides the user with guidance for the format and content of Design Safety Reports, Approval/Compliance Certificates and illustrates a change control system for changes to design or manufacture. Suggestions are discussed for national implementation of the standard, thus paving the way for an eventual International standard for those IAEA packages that do not require competent authority approval.