DENIALS AND DELAYS OF SHIPMENTS IN THE TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS IN BRAZIL

REM Indústria e Comércio is a Brazilian private company which has been performing transport of radioactive material in Brazil for more than 15 years and is also experiencing this situation. In Brazil, over 50,000 shipments of radioactive materials are carried out every year, mostly for medical purposes. There are 4 airlines companies operating the domestic routes and only is currently accepting material of Class 7 (radioactive) for transport. When transporting by road, REM uses its own vehicles or hires associated cargo companies. For the sea transport, there isn’t a certified vessel for this kind of material in Brazil which increases the prices and makes the transport by this mode very expensive and more difficult. Reasons for denials have been identified as misinterpretation of the regulations, lack of harmonization between regulations, fear of indemnity costs for accidents, restrictive rules at ports not allowing storage of radioactive material in transit, frequent changes in modal regulations, lack of education and training of cargo handlers and the misconception of public perception concerning radiation risks. Seeking for local solutions, REM has organized meetings involving medical societies, competent authorities and carriers and has taken part on commissions for revising standards and regulations and trained cargo handling personnel as well. This paper addresses causes for delays and denials and reports identified domestic solutions.