Lessons learnt from transport events and inspections involving radioactive material in France between 2007 and 2011

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) analyzed the feedback from all inspections and events related to transport between 2007 and 2011. Lessons learnt from more than 400 inspections and 500 events have been identified. In addition, the French Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) has conducted a systematic review of the 1 300 transport events recorded since 1999. These analyses cover all phases of transportation (preparation of the package, consigning, loading, carriage, manufacturing of the packaging, etc.), all modes and all sectors of use. The number of declared events with potential consequences on the safety or radiation levels slightly increased over 2007-2011. In particular, non-compliances with type B package approval certificates were reported by nuclear power plants and require additional preventive measures from the designers and users of these packages, in particular the verification of absence of inadvertent contents. Human errors and organizational deficiencies were the cause of many deviations observed during inspections. The consistency between the safety report and the actual operations should be improved through organizational measures and more user-friendly documents. Improvements are also needed in the following areas: the conformity of non-approved type A and industrial packages, the training of workers transporting and handling radioactive materials for medical and industrial uses and the preparation of packages prior to transport. The actions planned by ASN to prevent recurrence or reduce the potential consequences of events are presented.