Overview
Each day thousands of shipments of radioactive materials of all
kinds are transported on international and national routes. These
consignments, which are carried by road, rail, sea, air and inland
waterway can range from smoke detectors, and cobalt sources for
medical uses, to nuclear fuel cycle materials for electricity
generation.
The international transport of radioactive materials is governed
by a stringent regulatory regime, which includes standards, codes
and regulations which have been continuously revised and updated
over the past four decades.
The IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport
of Radioactive
Material
The IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive
Material set the basis for nuclear fuel cycle transport.
The IAEA Regulations are based on the fundamental principle that
radioactive material being transported should be packaged
adequately to provide protection against the various hazards of the
material under both normal and potential accident conditions.
Safety, therefore, relies on the package - on the packaging adapted
to its radioactive contents, whatever the transport
mode.
Because safety depends primarily on the package, the Regulations
set out several performance standards in this area. They provide
for five different primary packages, (Excepted, Industrial, Type A,
Type B and Type C) and set the criteria for their design according
to both the activity and the physical form of the radioactive
material they may contain. The IAEA Regulations lay down
corresponding test procedures to demonstrate compliance with the
required performance standards.
"Over several decades of transport, there has never been an
in-transit accident with serious human health, economic or
environmental consequences attributable to the radioactive nature
of the goods."
IAEA International Conference on the Safety of Transport of
Radioactive Material, Vienna, 2003.
International and regional modal regulations
or agreements
The provisions of the IAEA Regulations are not only reflected in
the national requirements of Member States, but also in the
regulation relative to each mode of transport as issued by
international or regional bodies.
Safety Regulations for the Transport of Radioactive
Material:
|
Mode of Transport
|
International/
Regional Organisation
|
Name of Regulation / Agreement / Codes
|
Scope
|
|
All
|
IAEA
|
Regulations for the Safe Transport of
Radioactive Material, TS-R-1
|
Worldwide
|
|
All
|
UN
|
Recommendations on the Transport of
Dangerous Goods
|
Worldwide
|
| Sea |
IMO |
International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
(IMDG Code) |
Worldwide |
|
Sea
|
IMO
|
International Code for the Safe Carriage of
Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and
High-Level Radioactive Wastes on Board Ships
(INF Code)
|
Worldwide
|
| Air |
ICAO |
Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of
Dangerous Goods by Air (TI) |
Worldwide |
| Air |
IATA |
Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) |
Worldwide |
|
Road
|
UN/ECE
|
European Agreement concerning the International
Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR)
|
Regional
|
|
Rail
|
OTIF
|
Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous
Goods by Rail (RID)
|
Regional
|
|
Road and rail
|
MERCOSUR/
MERCOSUL
|
Agreement of Partial Reach to Facilitate the Transport of
Dangerous Goods
|
Regional
|
|
Inland Waterways
|
UN/ECE
|
European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of
Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN)
|
Regional
|
| Inland Waterways |
CCNR |
Provisions concerning the Carriage of Dangerous
Goods on the Rhine (ADNR) |
Rhine Navigation |
|
Post
|
UPU
|
Universal Postal Convention and its detailed regulations
|
Worldwide
|