Year
1989
File Attachment
1043.PDF1.55 MB
Abstract
The transportation of radioactive materjal (RAM) packages is a routine activity in the U.S. nuclear materials industry. Several different types of packages are used to carry RAM (Low S{>ecific Activity, Type A, Type B). Type A packages are used to transport quantities of matenals tliat are small enough to be inherently safe, and for which only minimal amounts of shielding are required to meet regulatory requirements. The segment of the nuclear materials industry that is most prominent in shipping packages containing small amounts of RAM is radiopharmaceutical manufacturers, which ship about 500,000 packages per year in the U.S. Multiple packages of radiopharmaceutical materials are sometimes combined into single shipments for one of four reasons: 1. 2. 3. 4. A variety of radiopharmaceutical materials may have a common destination, so carriers frequently place many packages in one shipment as a cos~-effective alternative to a large number of single shipments. Air carrier and truck express routes are limited in the number of conveyances operated per day or week. Carriers are frequently dedicated to transporting products of a single shipper, which determines what materials are loaded together. Packages for a single location (e.g., a hospital or redistribution center) are often bundled (placed on a single pallet or in a plastic bag) to facilitate on-loading at the point of on gin and off-loading at the destination. Type A packages carry approximately 8% of the total curies in transport of RAM within the U.S., and make up the maJority of multiple-package shipments. Typical trips involving these multiple-package shipments have a route length of approximately 1,900 krn (1,200 mi) by truck on interstate highways; or a route length of approximately 1,500 km (950 mi) by cargo air. The regulations governing the transport of Type A packages in ~eneral commerce were designed to provide adequate assurance of public health and safety. These regulations generally limit the number of packages in a single conveyance in general commerce to 50 TI (the sum of all individual package Tis). However, under sole use (or exclusive use) requirements or under a specific exemption, a greater number of packages can be transported in a single conveyance. Thus, there can be a potentially larger source term (in total curies available for release) in the event of an accident involving these shipments. This paper presents the results from an evaluation of the consequences of accidents mvolvmg such shipments and the probabilities of accident occurrences.