Adoption of TS-R-1 in the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulations for Type-B and Fissile Material

Abstract

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently conducting a major revision of its regulations on the transport of radioactive material which are found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71 (10 CFR Part 71). The NRC and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) jointly share responsibility for regulating the transport of radioactive material. Consequently, the NRC and the DOT are both revising their regulations to be compatible with the latest edition of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) standard TS-R-1 (1996) for the transport of radioactive material. Since the NRC and the DOT share responsibility for regulating in this area, challenges arise in determining which provisions of TS-R-1 should result in conforming changes to the NRC's and the DOT's respective regulations, while also ensuring that the NRC's and the DOT's regulations remain consistent.