AERB Safety Code Notes

AERB Safety Code: Safe Transport of Radioactive Material

Definitions

• Cargo Aircraft: Any aircraft, other than a passenger aircraft, that is carrying goods or property.

• Carrier: Any person, organisation or government, undertaking the carriage of radioactive material by any mode of transport. Includes both contract carriers and private carriers.

• Competent Authority: Any official or authority appointed, approved or recognised by the Government of India for the purpose of the Rules promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

• Consignee: Any person, organisation or government that is entitled to take delivery of a consignment.

• Consignor: Any person, organisation or government that prepares a consignment for transport and is named as consignor in the transport documents.

• Confinement System: The assembly of fissile material and packaging components specified by the designer and agreed to by the competent authority as intended to preserve criticality safety.

• Consignment: Any package or packages, or load of radioactive material, presented by a consignor for transport.

• Containment System: The assembly of components of the packaging specified by the designer as intended to retain the radioactive material during transport.

• Contamination: The presence of a radioactive substance on a surface in quantities in excess of $0.4 Bq {cm}^{-2}$ for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters, or $0.04 Bq {cm}^{-2}$ for all other alpha emitters.

• Conveyance:

  • (a) For transport by road or rail: any vehicle.

  • (b) For transport by water: any vessel, or any hold, compartment, or defined deck area of a vessel.

  • (c) For transport by air: any aircraft.

• Criticality Safety Index (CSI): A number assigned to a package, overpack or freight container containing fissile material to provide control over the accumulation of such packages, overpacks or freight containers containing fissile material.

• Design: The description of fissile material excepted under para. 4.6.1.1(f), special form radioactive material, low dispersible radioactive material, package or packaging that enables such an item to be fully identified. The description may include specifications, engineering drawings, reports demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements, and other relevant documents as specified by the competent authority.

• Defined Deck Area: The area of the weather deck of a vessel, or of a vehicle deck of a roll-on/roll-off ship or ferry, that is allocated for the stowage of radioactive material.

• Fixed Contamination: Contamination other than non-fixed contamination.

• Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC): A portable packaging that:

  • (a) has a capacity of not more than $3 m^3$,

  • (b) is designed for mechanical handling, and

  • (c) is resistant to the stresses produced in handling and transport, as determined by tests.

• Low Dispersible Radioactive Material: A solid radioactive material or a solid radioactive material in a sealed capsule (not in powder form) and which meets the requirements laid down by the Competent Authority in this regard.

• Low Toxicity Alpha Emitters: Natural uranium, depleted uranium, natural thorium, uranium-235, uranium-238, thorium-232, thorium-228 and thorium-230 when contained in ores or physical and chemical concentrates; or alpha emitters with a half-life of less than 10 days.

• Maximum Normal Operating Pressure: The maximum pressure above atmospheric pressure at mean sea level that would develop in the containment system in a period of one year under the conditions of temperature and solar radiation corresponding to environmental conditions in the absence of venting, external cooling by an ancillary system, or operational controls during transport.

• Multilateral Approval: Approval by the relevant competent authority of the country of origin of the design or shipment, as applicable, and also, where the consignment is to be transported through or into any other country, approval by the Competent Authority of that country.

• Non-Fixed Contamination: Contamination that can be removed from a surface during routine conditions of transport.

• Overpack: An enclosure used by a single consignor to contain one or more packages and to form one unit for convenience of handling and stowage during transport.

• Package: The complete product of the packing operation, consisting of the packaging and its contents prepared for transport. The types of package which are covered by this safety code are subject to activity limits and material restrictions specified in Sections III, IV and V and meet the corresponding requirements i.e.:

  • (a) Excepted package

  • (b) Industrial package Type 1 (Type IP-1)

  • (c) Industrial package Type 2 (Type IP-2)

  • (d) Industrial package Type 3 (Type IP-3)

  • (e) Type A package

  • (f) Type B(U) package

  • (g) Type B(M) package

  • (h) Type C package.

• Packaging: The assembly of components necessary to enclose the radioactive contents completely. It may, in particular, consist of one or more receptacles, absorbent materials, spacing structures, radiation shielding, service equipment for filling, emptying, venting and pressure relief devices for cooling, absorbing mechanical shocks, providing handling and tie-down capability, thermal insulation; and service devices integral to the package. The packaging may be a box, drum, or similar receptacle, or a freight container, tank or intermediate bulk container.

• Passenger Aircraft: An aircraft that carries any person other than a crew member, a carrier’s employee in an official capacity, an authorised representative of an appropriate national authority, or a person accompanying a consignment or other cargo.

• Radiation Level: The dose rate expressed in millisieverts per hour or microsieverts per hour.

• Radioactive Contents: The radioactive material together with any contaminated or activated solids, liquids and gases within the packaging.

• Special Form Radioactive Material: It is either an indispersible solid radioactive material or a sealed capsule containing radioactive material, conforming to the requirements specified and approved by the Competent Authority for special form radioactive material.

• Through or Into: The countries in which a consignment is transported but specifically excludes countries over which a consignment is carried by air, provided that there are no scheduled stops in those countries.

• Transport Index (TI): A number assigned to a package, overpack or freight container, or to unpackaged LSA-I or SCO-I that is used to provide control over radiation exposure.

• Unilateral Approval: An approval of a design that is issued by the Competent Authority of the country of origin of the design only.

• Unirradiated Thorium: Thorium containing not more than $10^{-7}$ g of uranium-233 per gram of thorium-232.

• Uranium: Natural, Depleted, Enriched

  • Natural Uranium: Chemically separated uranium containing the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes (approximately 99.28% uranium-238 and 0.72% uranium-235, by mass).

  • Depleted Uranium: Uranium containing a lesser mass percentage of uranium-235 than natural uranium.

  • Enriched Uranium: Uranium containing a greater mass percentage of uranium-235 than 0.72%. [In all cases, a very small mass percentage of uranium-234 is present.]

Special Definitions

• A1: The activity value of special form radioactive material that is listed in Table-I or derived in Section 3 and is used to determine the activity limits for the requirements of this safety code.

• A2: The activity value of radioactive material, other than special form radioactive material, that is listed in Table-I or derived in Section 3 and is used to determine the activity limits for the requirements of this safety code.

• Exclusive Use: The sole use, by a single consignor, of a conveyance or of a large freight container, in respect of which all initial, intermediate and final loading and unloading and shipment are carried out in accordance with the directions of the consignor or consignee, where so specified in the this safety code.

• Fissile-Excepted: A consignment of radioactive material containing any fissile material in small quantities that do not warrant any of the specific additional requirements prescribed for fissile materials for ensuring criticality safety.

• Fissile Material: A material containing any of the fissile nuclides. Excluded from the definition of fissile material are the following:

  • (a) Natural uranium or depleted uranium that is unirradiated

  • (b) Natural uranium or depleted uranium that has been irradiated in thermal reactors only

  • (c) Material with fissile nuclides less than a total of 0.25 g

  • (d) Any combination of (a), (b) and/or (c).

• Fissile Nuclides: Uranium-233, Uranium-235, Plutonium-239 and Plutonium-241.

• Large Freight Container: A freight container that has an internal volume of more than $3 m^3$.

• Low Specific Activity (LSA) Material: Radioactive material that by its nature has a limited specific activity, or radioactive material for which limits of estimated average specific activity apply. External shielding materials surrounding the LSA material should not be considered in determining the estimated average specific activity.

• Management System: A set of interrelated or interacting elements (system) for establishing policies and objectives and enabling the objectives to be achieved in an efficient and effective manner.

• Radiation Protection Programme: Systematic arrangements that are aimed at providing adequate consideration of radiation protection measures.

• Radioactive Material: Any material containing radionuclides where both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment exceed the values specified in clauses 3.2 and 3.3 of this safety code.

• Rules: Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004.

• Small Freight Container: A freight container that has an internal volume of not more than $3 m^3$.

• Shipment: The specific movement of a consignment from origin to destination.

• Special Arrangement: Those provisions, approved by the Competent Authority, under which consignments that do not satisfy all the applicable requirements of this safety code may be transported.

• Specific Activity of a Material: The activity per unit mass of the material in which the radionuclides are essentially uniformly distributed.

• Surface Contaminated Object (SCO): A solid object that is not itself radioactive but which has radioactive material distributed on its surface.

• Tank: A portable tank (including a tank container), a road tank vehicle, a rail tank wagon or a receptacle that contains solids, liquids, or gases, having a capacity of not less than 450 L when used for the transport of gases.

• Unirradiated Uranium: Uranium containing not more than $2 \times 10^3$ Bq of plutonium per gram of uranium-235, not more than $9 \times 10^6$ Bq of fission products per gram of uranium-235 and not more than $5 \times 10^{-3}$ g of uranium-236 per gram of uranium-235.

• Vehicle: A road vehicle (including an articulated vehicle, i.e. a tractor and semi-trailer combination), rail, road, car or railway wagon. Each trailer should be considered as a separate vehicle.

• Vessel: Any seagoing vessel or inland waterway craft used for carrying cargo.

Introduction

• Radiation is used widely in medicine, industry, agriculture, and research. It is used in cancer treatment in medical diagnosis and therapy. It is applied in nondestructive testing of welding and casting as well as process control in the manufacturing sector. Radioactive materials are employed in agriculture and food preservation.

• It is vital to transport radioactive material from the supplier to the user and from the user to the disposal facility. Production of nuclear power involves transport of radioactive material.

• There are international rules for the safe transport of radioactive material by various modes. This safety code is based on the Regulations published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

• The IAEA Regulations are adopted in their entirety by the United Nations and included in the UN Recommendations on the safe transport of dangerous goods.

• Requirements for the transport of radioactive material which are prescribed by the Competent Authority in this safety code, issued under rule 16 of the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004 shall be duly complied with by persons and/or institutions licensed to handle radioactive material.

Objective

• The objective of this safety code is to establish requirements that shall be satisfied to ensure safety and to protect persons, property and the environment from the effects of radiation in the transport of radioactive material:

  • (a) Containment of the radioactive contents

  • (b) Control of external radiation levels

  • (c) Prevention of criticality, where applicable

  • (d) Prevention of damage caused by heat, where applicable.

• For assuring the safety of persons and the protection of property and the environment in the transport of radioactive material, the provisions of this safety code shall be complied with. For achieving confidence in this regard management systems shall be established by the concerned stakeholders.

Scope

• This safety code applies to the transport of radioactive material by all modes by land, water, or in the air, including transport that is incidental to the use of the radioactive material.

• The term, transport, comprises all operations and conditions associated with the movement of radioactive material. These include the design, manufacture, maintenance and repair of packaging; the preparation, consigning, loading, carriage including in-transit storage, unloading and receipt at the final destination of radioactive material and packages.

• The requirements meet the performance standards which are characterized in terms of three general severity levels:

  • (a) Routine conditions of transport (incident free)

  • (b) Normal conditions of transport (minor mishaps)

  • (c) Accident conditions of transport.

• The provisions of this safety code do not apply to the following:

  • (a) Radioactive material that is an integral part of the means of transport.

  • (b) Radioactive material moved within an establishment that is subject to appropriate safety regulations in force in the establishment and where the movement does not involve public roads or railways.

  • (c) Radioactive material implanted or incorporated into a person or live animal for diagnosis or treatment.

  • (d) Radioactive material in or on a person who is to be transported for medical treatment because the person has been subject to accidental or deliberate intake of radioactive material or to contamination.

  • (e) Radioactive material in consumer products that have received regulatory approval, following their sale to the end user.

  • (f) Natural material and ores containing naturally occurring radionuclides, which may have been processed, provided the activity concentration of the material does not exceed 10 times the values specified in Table-I.

${X<em>m= 1 / \sum</em>i (f(i) / X(i) )}$

• (g) Non-radioactive solid objects with radioactive substances present on any surface in quantities not in excess of $0.4 Bq.cm^{-2}$ for beta and gamma emitters and low toxicity alpha emitters, or $0.04 Bq.cm^{-2}$ for all other alpha emitters.

Routing and Physical Protection

• The provisions of this safety code do not specify controls such as routing or physical protection that may be instituted for reasons other than radiological safety.

• Measures shall be taken to ensure that radioactive material is kept secure in transport so as to prevent theft or damage and to ensure that control of the material is not relinquished inappropriately.

• For radioactive material having subsidiary risks, and for transport of radioactive material with other dangerous goods, the relevant transport regulations for dangerous goods shall apply in addition to the provisions of this safety code.

Structure of the Safety Code

• Section 2: General provisions.

• Section 3: Basic radionuclide values.

• Section 4: Classification of radioactive material and design requirements.

• Section 5: Classification of packages and design requirements for packagings.

• Section 6: Controls for transport of radioactive material.

• Section 7: Requirements for approvals and administration.

General Provisions for Radiological Safety

Radiation Protection

• Doses received by persons in connection with activities relating to transport of radioactive material shall be kept below the applicable dose limits.

• A radiation protection programme (RPP) shall be established for the transport of radioactive material.

• For occupational exposures arising from transport activities, where it is assessed that the effective dose is likely to exceed 1 mSv in a year, individual monitoring shall be conducted and appropriate records shall be maintained.

Emergency Response

• In the event of accidents or incidents during the transport of radioactive material, emergency provisions shall be observed to protect persons, property and the environment.

• Emergency procedures shall take into account the formation of other dangerous substances that may result from the reaction between the contents of a consignment and the environment in the event of an accident.

Management System

• A management system shall be established and implemented for all activities within the scope of this safety code, to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of this safety code.

Non-compliance

• Contravention of the applicable provisions of Radiation Protection Rules, 2004 or any of the terms and conditions of approval issued thereunder may entail modification, suspension or revocation of the approval issued in respect of a package and/or shipment (Rule 10) and also attract the provisions of Rule 35 of the said Rules, where applicable.

• In the event of non-compliance with any limit specified in this safety code applicable to radiation level or contamination:

  • (a) The consignor, consignee, carrier and any organisation involved during transport who may be affected, as appropriate, shall be informed of the non-compliance by:

    • (i) The carrier if the non-compliance is identified during transport; or

    • (ii) The consignee if the non-compliance is identified at receipt.

  • (b) The carrier, consignor or consignee, as appropriate, shall:

    • * (i) take immediate steps to mitigate the consequences of the non-compliance;

    • (ii) investigate the non-compliance and its causes, circumstances and consequences;

    • (iii) take appropriate action to remedy the causes and circumstances that led to the non-compliance and to prevent a recurrence of circumstances similar to those that led to the non-compliance; and

    • (iv) communicate to the Competent Authority the causes of the non-compliance and corrective or preventive actions taken or to be taken.

Special Arrangement

• Consignments for which conformity with the other provisions of this safety code is impracticable shall not be transported except under special arrangement.

• The overall level of safety in transport shall be at least equivalent to that which would be provided if all the applicable requirements had been met.

• For consignments of this type, multilateral approval shall be required.

Training

• Persons engaged in the transport of radioactive material shall receive training, commensurate with their responsibilities, concerning radiation protection and the contents of this safety code.

• Individuals such as those who classify radioactive material; pack radioactive material; mark and label radioactive material; prepare transport documents for radioactive material; offer or accept radioactive material for transport; carry or handle radioactive material in transport; mark or placard or load or unload packages of radioactive material into or from transport vehicles, bulk packagings or freight containers; or are otherwise directly involved in the transport of radioactive material as determined by the Competent Authority; shall receive the following training:

  • (a) General awareness/familiarisation Training:

    • (i) Each person shall receive training designed to provide familiarity with the general provisions of this safety code.

    • (ii) Such training shall include a description of radioactive material that are commonly transported; labelling, marking, placarding and packaging and segregation requirements; a description of the purpose and content of the radioactive material transport document; and a description of available emergency response documents.

  • (b) Function specific training: Each person shall receive detailed training concerning specific radioactive material transport requirements that are applicable to the function that person performs.

  • (c) Safety training: Commensurate with the risk of exposure in the event of a release and the functions performed, each person shall receive training on:

    • (i) methods and procedures for accident avoidance, such as proper use of package handling equipment and appropriate methods of stowage of radioactive material;

    • (ii) available emergency response information and how to use it;

    • (iii) general dangers presented by the various categories of radioactive material and how to prevent exposure to those hazards, including, if appropriate, the use of personal protective clothing and equipment; and

    • (iv) immediate procedures to be followed in the event of an unintentional release of radioactive material, including any emergency response procedures for which the person is responsible and personal protection procedures to be followed.

• Records of all safety training undertaken shall be kept by the employer and made available to the employee if requested.

• The training required in clause 2.6.2 shall be provided or verified upon employment in a position involving radioactive material transport and shall be periodically supplemented with retraining as deemed appropriate by the Competent Authority.

Basic Radionuclide Values

• Radioactive material shall be classified in accordance with the provisions of this section and further assigned to one of the UN numbers specified in Table-II.

• The following basic values for individual radionuclides are given in Table-I:

  • (a) A1 and A2 in TBq;

  • (b) Activity concentration limits for exempt material in Bq.g-1;

  • (c) Activity limits for exempt consignments in Bq.

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$\sum_i {B(i)/A1(i)} + \sum{C(j)/A2(j)} \leq 1$