DESIGN STANDARDS FOR ON-SITE TRANSPORT PACKAGES

The regulations governing the transport of radioactive materials are prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with the most recent edition being published in 1996 as ST-1 [1], although a slightly revised edition (designated TS-R-1) that corrected a number of minor errors was published in English only in late 2000. These regulations have been developed over 40 years [2] and contain design standards and performance requirements. However, they are only intended to be applied to the transport of radioactive material in the public domain. There is no internationally accepted set of design standards applicable to packages intended purely for on-site movements. The IAEA Transport Regulations apply to all aspects of transport, including the loading and unloading of radioactive material into and out of the packaging within which the material is being carried. In respect of UK nuclear licensed sites, there is therefore an overlap between the regulation of loading on the sites, as activities on such sites are regulated by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), and radioactive materials transport is regulated by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). This is dealt with by a Memorandum of Understanding between the NII and DTLR.