ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRANSITION FROM THE 1985 EDITION TO THE 1996 EDITION OF THE IAEA TRANSPORT REGULATIONS

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material are periodically updated to take account of the latest safety information, practices and technologies related to packaging and transport of radioactive material. In December 1996 the IAEA published the 1996 Edition of the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material. Originally, a world-wide adoption date of 1 January 2001 was recommended for incorporation of this edition into international modal and IAEA Member State (country) requirements. Despite efforts at an international level to support a uniform implementation date for the various international modal requirements, 1 January 2001 proved to be impractical. It was ultimately agreed that adoption would occur during 2001 with different modes applying varying adoption and transition dates. Individual Member State intentions remain less defined. It was further recognized during 2000 that difficulties could arise during 2001 and beyond during the transition from the 1985 edition to the 1996 Edition of the Regulations. These difficulties come mainly from the many differences between the two sets of regulations. To address these potential difficulties, the IAEA published in late 2000 a technical document (TECDOC) on “Arrangements for Transition from the 1985 Edition (as Amended 1990) to the 1996 Edition of the IAEA Transport Regulations”. This TECDOC, which was developed with the assistance of experts from a number of countries and international organizations, was issued in recognition of the importance of a harmonized transition, to facilitate maintaining safety and avoiding unnecessary interruptions to commerce. This paper presents notable differences between the two sets of regulations and discusses the recommendations that are made regarding how to comply with regulatory requirements during and after the transition period.