Progress in Establishing a Relationship to Build Type B(U) Containers to U.S. Specifications for Isotope Transport

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has harmonized regulations for transporting nuclear materials with international standards as outlined in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Standard TS-R-1. The new regulatory requirements mandate that containers built to DOT specifications for transportation of Type B prior to the harmonization be phased out of use by October of 2008. As there are currently no approved Type B(U) containers of suitable size and weight to serve the medical, research and industrial isotope market, the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) has undertaken a process to identify and partner with a vendor to design the first set of Type B(U) containers for production isotope transport under the harmonized DOT and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. Issues of cost, timing and the difficulties faced by a U.S. producer to meet the regulations are covered. The challenges faced by a radioisotope production facility that wishes to expand its offerings to customers in the future, yet must detail the exact isotopes to be transported in the safety analysis are discussed. Various ‘lessons learned’ are covered as are future options.