REVIEW AND REVISION OF THE IAEA TRANSPORT REGULATIONS

The Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been an important factor in achieving an excellent world-wide safety record for the transport of radioactive material. In order to support maintaining this excellent safety record there is a recognised need to keep these regulations up to date through review and revision, taking into account the latest radiation protection principles and technological developments in the transport and packaging of radioactive material. The 10 year review and revision process which led to the 1996 edition ofthe IAEA transport regulations was put into place shortly after the 1985 edition had been completed. The IAEA transport regulations have developed and matured with each new edition. The requirements for review and revision of the regulations have evolved accordingly. It was recognised that the review and revision process should be re-evaluated following the publication ofthe 1996 edition. Proposals for improving the review and revision process were discussed at IAEA meetings ofthe Transport Safety Standards Advisory Committee in 1996 and 1997. A Consultant Services Meeting in February 1997 produced a general framework for an improved process and a Technical Committee Meeting in June 1997 developed further details. The Technical Committee Meeting addressed the overall sequencing and timing of meetings, any required intermediate steps, criteria for justifying, developing and analysing changes to the regulations and the consensus approach for making changes. This paper will provide an overview of the improved review and revision process which has been recommended by the June 1997 Technical Committee Meeting.