Recent Developments in the Area of Insurance and Indemnity Coverage for Transportation of Radioactive Materials in the United States

The availability of adequate liability coverage in the unlikely event of a serious radioactive materials transportation accident continues to be of concern to transporters and public officials. This paper will discuss recent developments in the area of insurance and indemnity for transportation of radioactive materials in the United States. At the 6th International Symposium in Berlin (West) in 1980, the 7th International Symposium in New Orleans in 1983, and the 8th International Symposium in Davos, Switzerland in 1986, I presented descriptions of the PriceAnderson insurance-indemnity system as it existed at those times. Since then, there have been a number of developments of interest here in the United States. Foremost among these is the fact that, on August 20, 1988, President Reagan signed into law the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988. These statutory amendments renewed and modified previously existing nuclear hazards liability coverage for many nuclear materials shipments within the United States.