VARIOUS APPLICABLE RULES BASED ON SINGLE INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS

Radioactive materials are transported according to national, regional and international regulations widely based on rules set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): “Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materiel”. Many advantages stem from the existence of a uniform basis for regulations. Implementation of and compliance with the regulations are facilitated and safety is consequently improved. International and multi-modal transports can hence be performed efficiently and safely. However the reality of implementation of these regulatory principles is often a different matter. Continuous difficulties are faced for instance in design of packages requiring competent authority approval in several countries. The IAEA regulations, as well as regional and international regulations, define “unilateral approval”, that is approval which is required only from the competent authority of the country of origin. Nevertheless, the number of countries where this concept of “unilateral approval” is recognized practically is steadily decreasing. Furthermore, the regulations may be written differently from one country to another. Even with the same wording, they can be understood and implemented in different ways. The paper develops examples regarding the above issues, and, moreover, presents how these difficulties can be overcome by various solutions ranging from clarification of regulations, closer contact between the applicant and authorities, and passing by development of standards.