The German graded approach for different validity periods of package design approvals

The international and national requirements for the approval of package designs for the transport of radioactive material which are all based on the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (SSR-6) do not restrict the validity periods of approvals issued by a competent authority. In Germany, package design approvals are generally issued for 3 years. However, it is possible to authorize other validity periods if applied for and justified by the applicant.For example, for an application for a validity period of 10 years or longer certain conditions have to be fulfilled (e.g., no more manufacturing of casks is permitted, all casks of that design are loaded and stored in an interim storage facility) and the applicant has to provide to the competent authorities initially and periodically evaluation reports for ageing, for verification procedures used in the Safety Analysis Report for demonstrating safety and for operational experiences. By reviewing these evaluation reports as well as the evaluation of the impact of regulatory changes on the package design approval periodically it will be ensured that all requirements for a package design approval are met also in the future or, if necessary, appropriate measures can be taken, respectively.Thereby the progress of the 2018 Edition of the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (SSR-6, Rev. 1) regarding dual purpose casks for transport and storage of spent fuel and high active waste is already taken into account.This paper gives details of the German graded approach: which conditions have to be met and which documents and proofs have to be provided for assessment to the competent authorities of Germany (BfE and BAM) to achieve longer validity periods.