Transport Safety

Introduction

 

Why do we need to transport radioactive materials? Radioactive materials have been used to enhance the quality of our lives for over a century. Today, all manner of products that we take for granted are dependent upon the reliable transport of radioactive materials from manufacturer to end user. Several examples of such applications are described in below.

• In health care radioactive materials are used to diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and organ failure. Eighty percent of surgical gloves and nearly 50% of disposable medical devices are sterilized using radioactive materials.
• In industry radioactive materials are used for non-destructive testing, thereby supporting the construction and safety control of cars, airplanes, bridges and buildings. They are also used to produce improved plastics, detergents and semiconductors.
• In our homes and work places, smoke detectors and energy sav­ing lights often contain small quantities of radioactive material. Some foods, packagings and the natural ingredients in cosmetics and medicines are sterilized using radioactive material.
• In our environment radioactive materials are used for the control of disease carrying insects. They also help to remove pests in food and other goods, thus reducing the use of fumigation that is both toxic and harmful to the ozone layer.
  Additionally, radioactive materials are used to generate stable and cost efficient electricity to power our homes and places of work.
  New applications of radioactive material are being developed and the use of this technology continues to expand. This makes the efficient transport of radioactive material even more indispensable.
  
  
• Radioactive material and mobile phones — If you own a computer or a mobile phone, then it will almost certainly contain electronic components made of tantalum metal.
• Tantalum is not radioactive, but most of the minerals from which it is extracted are. These minerals have to be transported to processing facilities and in most cases have to be declared as radioactive materials. Besides electronics, tantalum is used to create advanced materials for aircraft engines and medical implants.
• Cobalt-60: The silent slave — Cobalt-60 is a radioactive form of cobalt, a naturally occurring element that is often used in alloys. Like many other forms of radioactive material, it plays a hidden role in improving or saving lives. Cobalt-60 is used for treating cancer and is involved in some 45,000 treatments/day in more than 50 countries around the world. Furthermore, nearly 50% of all single-use medical disposable products – including gloves, sutures, needles and dressings – are sterilized using cobalt-60. All parts of the transport chain needed collaborate to make sure this vital product is delivered in a timely manner to those sites involved in these critical health care applications.

A strong regulatory framework

In 1961, the IAEA published its first regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material. These regulations have been reviewed and updated regularly over the last 50 years, and form the basis of international modal regulations established by other United Nations bodies, such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization. The IAEA requirements are in turn adopted by national regulatory authorities creating a strong global regulatory framework.

The IAEA’s Statute authorizes the Agency to establish standards of safety to protect health and minimize danger to life and property. Safety standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements and guidance to ensure safety The IAEA has a fundamental part to play through the Safety Standards Series and their application in achieving in Member States a high level of protection for people and the environment worldwide. 

 

Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials

Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials (TS-R-1) were first published in 1961, as Safety Series No. 6. It is applicable to the national and international carriage of radioactive material by all modes of transport. Subsequent reviews - conducted by the IAEA’s Secretariat in consultation with IAEA Member States, relevant specialized agencies and various other United Nations bodies - have resulted comprehensively revised versions (published in 1964, 1967, 1973, 1985, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2009). All versions of the Regulations have struck a balance between the need to take account of technical advances, operational experience and the latest radiation protection principles while maintaining a stable framework of regulatory requirements.

The Regulations address all categories of radioactive material ranging from very low activity, including such materials as ores and concentrates of ores, to very high activity such as spent fuel and high-level waste. The material to be transported must be categorized on the basis of its activity concentration, total activity, fissile characteristics (if any) and other relevant subsidiary characteristics. Packaging and package requirements are then specified on the basis of the hazard of the contents and range from normal commercial packaging (for low hazard contents) to strict design and performance requirements (for higher hazard contents). Specific requirements are also established for marking, labeling, placarding of conveyances, documentation, external radiation limits, operational controls, quality assurance and notification and approval of certain shipments and package types.
TS-G-1.1 “Advisory Material for the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material”

 

Safety Standards Series publications

 

Related Publications

• General Conference document on Denial of Shipments
  
• Errata for ST-1 to TS-R-1: English, French, Russian, Spanish
  
• International Conference on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials, 2003: Book of contributed papers (12 MB); Presidents Findings; Proceedings
  
• Intertran2 (tool for Probabilistic Safety Assessment in Transport)
  
• List of National Competent Authorities
  
• List of publications, historical
  
• Transport Safety tentative meeting programme 2010
  
• Survey of Member States' regulatory infrastructure (260kb)
  
• TECDOC-1194 on Transitional arrangements (5Mb)
  
• TECDOC-1231 on Severity of maritime accidents (6Mb)
  
• TECDOC-1424 PACKTRAM Database 2004 Ed. (900kb)
  
• TECDOC-1346 Input Data for quantifying risks (544kb)
  
• Training Manual, based on TS-R-1 (3.4Mb)

General Conference Documents

• Report on Legally binding instruments

Resolutions

Listing of all Resolutions on Transport of Radioactive Material (1998-2008)

 

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