EVENT SEVERITY SCALES FOR, AND REPORTING OF, TRANSPORT ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS

The International Nuclear Event Scale 1 (INES) has been used successfully for more than a decade to provide, to the media and the public, prompt communication of the safety significance of accidents and incidents at nuclear sites. The scale has recently been revised and now includes events involving the transport of radioactive materials, but the guidance on that application is brief. The study2 reported on here sought to complement that guidance and give proposals on how to apply appropriate ratings to practical transport events. The study also considered ratings for transport events involving releases of radioactive materials into aquatic environments, which is not currently covered by the INES. Reporting transport events enables the safety of these operations to be monitored and the study made recommendations on the type of reporting appropriate within the European Union.