REVISION TO U.S. TRANSPORTATION REGULATIONS IN 10 CFR PART 71 TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH IAEA STANDARD TS-R-1

he U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently conducting a major revision to its regulations on the transportation of radioactive material which are found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71 (10 CFR Part 71). The NRC and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) jointly share responsibility for overseeing the transportation of radioactive material. Consequently, the NRC and DOT are both revising their regulations to be compatible with the latest edition (1996) to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) standard TS-R-1 for the transportation of radioactive material. Because the NRC and DOT share responsibility for regulatory oversight in this area, challenges arise in determining which provisions of TS-R-1 should result in conforming changes to the NRC's and DOT's respective regulations, while simultaneously ensuring that the NRC's and DOT's regulations remain consistent. The NRC is proposing to adopt many of TS-R-1's provisions, however, in some instances the NRC is choosing not to adopt certain TS-R-1 provisions. In addition, the NRC is also revising several other requirements in 10 CFR Part 71 which are applicable to the domestic transportation of radioactive material in the areas of special package approvals, quality assurance, fissile material general licenses and exemptions, dual-purpose packages (i.e., packages intended for both the storage and transportation of spent fuel), transportation of plutonium, and event reporting.