Maintaining the flow: international cooperation to help address denial of shipment of radioactive material

The phenomenon of delay and denial of shipments, the non-acceptance of radioactive material by transport companies and ports even when shipments are in full compliance with domestic regulations and internationally accepted requirements, has been addressed at previous PATRAM Symposia. In 2018, IAEA General Conference Resolution GC(62)/RES/6 and IMO Facilitation Committee paper IMO FAL 42/16/1 submitted by WNTI recognized ongoing difficulties relating to the delay and denial of shipments. The serious effects of such difficulties range from added physical protection risk due to material sent by longer indirect routes and detriment to public health caused by delaying or restricting patient treatment. The Transport Facilitation Working Group (TFWG) is a standing group of experts whose role is to propose strategies and activities necessary to facilitate the global transport of radioactive materials, and to contribute to their implementation. It submits regular reports to the Inter-Agency Group (IAG), composed of representatives of the IAEA, ICAO, and IMO Secretariats as well as UNECE. The presentation will outline analysis by TFWG members relating to the facilitation of Class 7, including data on the consolidation of maritime carriers. It will also propose ways that the findings and recommendations found in GC(62)/RES/6 and IMO FAL 42/16/1 could be addressed.