European technical guide on package design safety reports for transport packages containing radioactive material

Abstract

For each design of a package for the transport of radioactive material, it is necessary to demonstrate compliance with national and international transport regulations as applicable. It is recommended to combine all information necessary to demonstrate compliance in a package design safety report. The European Technical Guide is intended to assist in the preparation of such a package design safety report for use in all European countries. The development of this guide has been initiated and supported by the European Commission (EC) to improve harmonisation in this field in Europe. Starting from 2005, a draft of the guide has been produced with inputs from Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, UK, the World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI) and AREVA. This paper describes the scope, structure and contents of the draft of the Technical Guide. The guide is based on the IAEA TS-R-1 Regulations which are generally consistent with the regulations for the road, rail, sea, inland waterways and air modes of transport, namely, ADR, RID, IMDG code, ADN and ICAO respectively, which have to be applied in European countries. The guide is applicable to all types of packages. It proposes a structure and a minimum contents for the safety report to assist the applicant in the case of a package design subject to competent authority approval, and to assist the package designer in the case of a package not requiring competent authority approval in demonstrating compliance with the provisions of TS-R-1 applicable to the respective package type. The guide also includes a matrix of paragraph numbers of IAEA TS-R-1 and modal regulations applicable to each package type to support demonstration of compliance with all regulatory requirements that have to be addressed for each package type. Further guidance for the scope of the contents of a package design safety report specifically related to each package type is given in annexes to the guide. It is intended in the further development of the guide to provide the results to IAEA to support worldwide harmonisation in this matter.

Keywords:

• GUIDELINE
• PACKAGE DESIGN
• SAFETY REPORT
• SAFETY ANALYSES
• DEMONSTRATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS