Radiation Doses Arising from the Sea Transport of Radioactive Materials

For both economic and geographic reasons a wide variety of radioactive materials is transported to and from the United Kingdom (UK) by sea. These materials include those associated with the nuclear fuel cycle such as uranium ore concentrate (UOC) and irradiated nuclear fuel and also radioisotopes used in medicine and industry. The international carriage of radioactive materials by sea is governed by the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation's International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code), (IMO 1988). This requires the segregation of radioactive materials from persons and undeveloped photographic film. The appropriate separation distances are given in tables and nomographs in the Code.