GUIDANCE AND METHODS FOR SATISFYING LOW SPECIFIC ACTIVITY MATERIAL AND SURFACE CONTAMINATED OBJECT REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS•

The U.S. Department of Transportation {DOT) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have prepared a comprehensive set of draft guidance for shippers and inspectors to use when applying the newly imposed regulatory requirements for low specific activity (LSA) material and surface contaminated objects (SCOs). These requirements represent significant departures in some areas from the manner in which these materials and objects were regulated by the earlier versions of the regulations. The proper interpretation and application of the regulatory criteria can require a fairly complex set of decisions be made. To assist those trying to apply these regulatory requirements, a detailed set oflogic-flow diagrams representing decisions related to multiple factors were prepared and included in the draft report for comment on Categorizing and Transporting Low Specific Activity Materials and Surface Contaminated Objects, {DOT/NRC, 1997). These logic-flow diagrams, as developed, are specific to the U.S. regulations, but were readily adaptable to the IAEA regulations. The diagrams have been modified accordingly and tied directly to specific paragraphs in IAEA Safety Series No. 6. This paper provides the logic-flow diagrams adapted to the IAEA regulations, and demonstrates how these diagrams can be used to assist consignors and inspectors in assessing compliance of shipments with the LSA material and SCO regulatory requirements.