Development of the System for Transporting Radioactive Materials between Chapel Cross and Sellafield

Abstract

The development of the radioactive material transport link between the nuclear power station at Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire and the reprocessing plant and waste management facilities at Sellafield and Drigg in Cumbria is described in relation to the development of the IAEA Regulations and their application in the United Kingdom, from the early days when formal regulations barely existed to the present when detailed regulations and full quality assurance are applied to all aspects of radioactive material transport. The range of transport containers now in use is described, from 50 ton spent fuel flasks to 10 kg sample containers, and these include designs that have interesting possibilities for use elsewhere in the national and international nuclear industry.