This document discusses key aspects of safely transporting radioactive material as outlined in international regulations. It covers material classification, package selection based on material type and content limits, and controls during transport including limits on radiation levels, transport indexes, and categorizing packages. The overall safety approach involves containing radioactive contents, controlling external radiation, preventing criticality, and preventing heat damage through a graded package design based on material hazard levels.

1. Radiation Safety Transportation of Radioactive Material
Meherun Nahar, Ph.D
Director, Radiation Control Division
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority(BAERA)

2. What We Are Going to Discuss
 Introduction
 Material Classification
 Packaging
 Selection of Package
 Hazard Control

3. General principal:
 Doses to persons shall be below the relevant dose limits.
Protection and safety shall be optimized in order that the
magnitude of individual doses, the number of persons exposed
and the likelihood of incurring exposure shall be kept as low as
reasonably achievable, economic and social factors being taken
into account.
Radiation protection Programme for safe Transport
of Radioactive Material

4. Exposure limit :
 For occupational exposures arising from transport activities, where it
is assessed that the effective dose either:
 (a) Is likely to be between 1 and 6 mSv in a year, a dose assessment
programme via workplace monitoring or individual monitoring
shall be conducted; or
 (b) Is likely to exceed 6 mSv in a year, individual monitoring shall
be conducted.
When individual monitoring or workplace monitoring is
conducted, appropriate records shall be kept
…Radiation protection Programme

5. World wide Regulation of
Transport of Dangerous Goods

6. The Nine Classes of Dangerous Goods
Class 1 Explosives
Class 2 Gases
Class 3 Flammable liquids
Class 4 Flammable solids
Class 5 Oxidizing
substances and
organic peroxides
Class 6 Toxic and
infectious
substances
Class 7 Radioactive
material
Class 8 Corrosives
Class 9 Miscellaneous
dangerous goods

7. Perspective of the Transport of
Dangerous Goods by Mode
Estimated Fraction of
all goods that are
Dangerous Goods
15%
Estimated Fraction of
All Dangerous Goods
that are Radioactive
Road
Rail
Air
Sea or
Canal
20%
3% - 4%
50%
<2%
<2%
<10%
<1%

8. The International Regulation of the Transport of
all Dangerous Goods
UN Economic and
Social Council
IAEA
(Vienna) ICAO IMO UPU ECE
UN Committee
of Experts
(Geneva)
Regulations for the Safe
Transport of Radioactive
Material (Class 7)
Recommendations for
the Transport
of Dangerous Goods
(Classes 1-6 & 8-9)
Regional/European
Road, Rail and Inland
Waterway Transport
Agreements
South American
MERCOSUR/MERCOSUL
National
Regulations

9. Legislation
 Adoption of the Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Regulations
for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, either directly
or by other regulatory instrument.

10. Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA)
Regulations
 The IAEA issued the first edition of the Transport
Regulations as Safety Series No. 6 in 1961
 The Transport Regulations have been periodically updated
since then, later editions being
 1985 Edition (As Amended) – Safety Series No. 6
 1996 Edition – Safety Standards Series No. TS-R-1
(ST-1, Revised)
 2005 Edition - Safety Requirements No.TS-R-1
 2006 Edition –Safe Requirements No TS-R-1
 2009 Edition –Safe Requirements No TS-R-1
 2012 Edition – Specific safety Requirements SSR-6

11. Implementation of IAEA Transport Rregulations
UN
Class 7
Regulations Concerning the International
Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)
2007
Publisher:
The Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF)
OTIF UNECE
All Classes
ICAO IMO
ZENTRALKOMMISSION FÜR DIE RHEINSCHIFFFAHRT
VERORDNUNG ÜBER DIE BEFÖRDERUNG
GEFÄHRLICHER GÜTER AUF DEM RHEIN
A D N R
2007
ZKR
Inland Transport in Europe
Air Sea

12. Objective
The objective of these Regulations is to establish
requirements that must be satisfied to ensure safety
and to protect persons, property and the environment
from the effects of radiation in the transport of
radioactive material.

13. Basic Safety Concepts
 The objective of these Regulations is to protect persons,
property and the environment from the effects of radiation
during the transport of radioactive material. This
protection is achieved by requiring:
• containment of the radioactive content
• control of external radiation levels
• prevention of criticality
• prevention of damage caused by heat

14. Key Element for Application of Basic Safety
Concept on Transportation
Some definitions in groups associated with the following
concepts:
 material classification
 packages
 controls
 shipments
 Transport

15. Classes of radioactive material
 Special form radioactive material
 Low dispersible radioactive material
 LSA
 SCO
 Fissile material
 UF6

16. Classes of radioactive material
 Special form radioactive material
 Low dispersible radioactive material
 LSA
 SCO
 Fissile material
 UF6

17. Three Basic Principles for Safety for all
Packages
 Inherent safety
 Passive safety
 Active safety
In catastrophic failure,
ingested materials will
have no significant
detrimental effect
Controls applied
before and during
shipment
Graded approach to
package design

18. Graded Approach - Package Integrity is a Function of
Potential Hazard of Contents
Graded approach to transport:Packages graded to
limit possible exposure of workers and public
 Routine conditions – incident free
 Normal conditions – minor mishaps
 Accident conditions
Excepted Package Type A Package Type B Package

19. Inherent Safety of radioactive material – the
“Q System”
Inherent safety is provided primarily on the basis of the
Q-System which is used to calculate allowable Type A
package contents (‘Q’ for quantity)
“A” values were calculated for each radionuclide
A1 (special form)
A2 (other than special form)

20. Basic Radionuclide Values for Transport
of Radioactive Material
Radionuclide
(atomic
number)
A1
(TBq)
A2
(TBq)
Activity
concentration
for exempt
material
(Bq/g)
Activity
limit for
an exempt
consignment
(Bq)
Am-241 1 x 101
1 x 10-3
1 x 100
1 x 104
Co-60 4 x 10-1
4 x 10-1
1 x 101
1 x 105
I-129 Unlimited Unlimited 1 x 102
1 x 105
The basic radionuclide values are to be found in Table
2 of SSR-6. For example:

21. “ Packaging” and “Packages” are Terms of
vital importance in SSR-6
The Definitions for Package and Packaging must
not be confused
 Package - The packaging with its radioactive contents
as presented for transport
 Packaging - The assembly of components necessary to
enclose the radioactive contents completely
+ =
PACKAGING PACKAGE
RADIOACTIVE
CONTENTS

22. Package:
Shall mean the packaging with its radioactive contents as
presented for transport
 Eight Basic Package Types for Radioactive Material
 Excepted Package
 Industrial Package
 Type 1
 Type 2
 Type 3
 Type A Package
 Type B(U) Package
 Type B(M) Package
 Type C Package
 UF6 / Fissile
Excepted Package
UF6 / Fissile
Type A Package

23.  Qualified package for the radioactive material transport
depends on :
 Type of material
 Contents limit
 Constraints
Selection of Pakage

24. “Material Type”
Material type includes the properties or
characteristics of the radioactive material
which may determine package restrictions
Examples include:
• Radioactive material not in Special Form
• Radioactive material in Special Form
• Qualified LSA or qualified SCO
• UF6
•Fissile material

25. “Content Limit”
Content limit is the activity limit of the
radioactive material contents of a package
imposed by the SSR-6 Regulations
Examples include:
• “Limited quantities”
• A1 or A2
• Through unpackaged material dose rate
limitation, such as for LSA/SCO
• As specified in Competent Authority
approval certificate of Package Design

26. “Constraints”
Constraints are additional requirements in SSR-6 that
allow, restrict or forbid the use of a package for a given
radioactive material under certain conditions
Examples include:
• Package surface dose rates
• Exclusive Use
• Conveyance restrictions
• Prohibition of carriage by air of
certain types of packages

27. Quantities of Radioactive Material < A1 or A2
 If the quantity of radioactive material to be
transported is only a small fraction (10-3 to 10-4) of A1 or
A2, it may qualify to be shipped in an Excepted
Package

28. Basic Radionuclide Values for Transport
of Radioactive Material
Radionuclide
(atomic
number)
A1
(TBq)
A2
(TBq)
Activity
concentration
for exempt
material
(Bq/g)
Activity
limit for
an exempt
consignment
(Bq)
Am-241 1 x 101
1 x 10-3
1 x 100
1 x 104
Co-60 4 x 10-1
4 x 10-1
1 x 101
1 x 105
I-129 Unlimited Unlimited 1 x 102
1 x 105
The basic radionuclide values are to be found in Table
2 of SSR-6. For example:

29. Determine the multiples of A1 and A2’s
Present in a Material
Type A Package shall not contain activities greater
than:
One A1 (for special form radioactive materials)
One A2 (for other than special form radioactive
material)
1 TBq = 0.5A1
2 TBq = 1A1
4 TBq = 2A1
Cs-137 A1 = 2 TBq, therefore,
Example: 4 TBq of Cs-137 (special form) is >1A1,
therefore, not permitted in a Type A Package.

30.  contamination
 leaking packages
 limits on
 radiation levels
 TI
 CSI
 marking, labelling and placarding
Control Necessary Regarding Radioactive
Material Transport Packages (Active Safety )
Controls on:

31. Controls during transport
Pre-shipment checks (graded approach)
Normal controls (excepted package has some different
controls), examples
Contamination, labels, marks, placards, Transport
Index, documentation, segregation etc.
Category I, II or III labels relates to the direct radiation
hazard close to the package
Transport Index relates to the direct radiation hazard at a
distance from the package
Special control – exclusive use – all aspects of shipment
controlled from start to finish by a single consignor or
consignee

32. Controls applied before and during
shipment
Radiation Level
 Transport Index
 Criticality Safety Index

33. Radiation level
shall mean the corresponding dose rate
expressed in millisieverts per hour

34. Transport Index
Shall mean a number used to
provide control over
radiation exposure

35. Determining Transport Index
Determination of TI
1. Maximum radiation level in mSv/h at 1m (RL1m)
2. Multiply value determined by 100
3. Resulting number is the TI
 Round up to the nearest first decimal
 TI <0.05 may be considered zero (0)
RL1m (mSv/hr) x 100 = TI

36. Criticality Safety Index (CSI)
assigned to a package, overpack or freight
container containing fissile material
shall mean a number used to provide control over
the accumulation of packages, overpacks or
freight containers containing fissile material
CRITICALITY
SAFETY INDEX
FISSILE
7
Fissile
Material
Label

37. ….limits on TI, CSI and radiation level for
packages and overpacks
Except for packages or overpacks transported under exclusive
use by rail or road , or special arrangement by vessel or by air,
the maximum radiation level at any point on any external
surface of a package or overpack shall not exceed 2 mSv/h

38. ….limits on TI, CSI and radiation level for
packages and overpacks
The maximum radiation level at any point on
any external surface of a package under
exclusive use shall not exceed 10 mSv/h

39. Categorization of Packages and Over packs of
Radioactive Material
Packages and overpacks shall
be assigned to one of three
categories:
 I-WHITE
 II-YELLOW, or
 III-YELLOW
Cs-137, Sr-90
65 MBq
0.7
FISSILE
7
CRITICALITY
SAFETY INDEX

40. Determining the Appropriate Category
There are three factors in determining category:
 Surface radiation level
 Transport Index
 Special arrangement shipments

41. ….determining
the appropriate category
 Selection of appropriate
category
 Based on Table 8 of SSR-6
 Highest category based on
TI or radiation level
assumes precedence
 TI <0.05 may be assigned ‘0’
 Package or overpacks
transported under special
arrangement always acquire
Category III-YELLOW
To: Ilah Wannit
Radioactive Material,
Type A Package
UN 2915
55 kg
Type A
A / Austrian Container Co.
1 m
(TI)
(Surface)

42. Categories of Packages and Overpacks SSR-6, Table 8
TABLE VIII. CATEGORIES OF PACKAGES AND OVERPACKS
Transport Index Conditions Category
Maximum radiation level at
any point on external surface
0a Not more than 0.005 mSv/h I-WHITE
More than 0 but not more than 1a More than 0.005 mSv/h but II-YELLOW
not more than 0.5 mSv/h
More than 1 but not more than 10 More than 0.5 mSv/h but III-YELLOW
not more than 2 mSv/h
More than 10 More than 2 mSv/h but III-YELLOWb
not more than 10 mSv/h
a If the measured TI is not greater than 0.05, the value quoted my be zero in accordance with para.
523(c).
b Shall also be transported under exclusive use.

43. Maximum Radiation Levels
for Conveyances
2m
O.1 mSv/h at 2m from
any external surface
of conveyance
2 mSv/h at any
point on the
external surface of
conveyance
Any occupied position:
ALARA & RPP

44. Applying Labels
 Label configuration on
packages shall be:
 affixed on two opposite
sides of the outside of a:
 package
 overpack
 affixed on all four sides of
a:
 freight container
 tank
 Labels shall not cover the
markings specified in
To: Ilah Wannit
Radioactive Material,
Type A Package
UN 2915
55 kg
Type A
A / Austrian Container Co.
Cs-137, Sr-90
65 MBq
0.7
Cs-137, Sr-90
65 MBq
0.7
Cs-137, Sr-90
65 MBq
0.7

45. Consignment & Consignor
 Consignment shall mean any package or packages, or load
of radioactive material, presented by a consignor
 Consignor shall mean any person, organization or
government which prepares a consignment for
transport

46. Carrier & Consignee
Carrier shall mean any person, organization
or government undertaking the carriage of
radioactive material by any
Consignee shall mean any person,
organization or government which receives
a consignment

47. Stowage - Segregation from Other
Dangerous Goods
Radioactive material
consignments must be
segregated from other
dangerous goods in
accordance with the
dangerous goods
regulations

48. Storage in Transit : Packages containing
Radioactive Material
 Segregation from persons and undeveloped
photographic film
 International modal organizations have specific
prescriptions
 Dose assessment for Category II- and III-Yellow label
packages, followed by segregation, dose limits,
constraints and optimization

49. Accidents
 Carrier plays vital role in
emergency response system
 Radio or mobile phone
notification of accident
 Carrier/consignor may
 need to provide detailed
description of radioactive
material and packages
 have responsibilities
associated with cleanup

50. Undeliverable Consignments
If neither consignor nor
consignee can be identified:
 place package in a safe location
 notify competent authority
 request for instructions for
further actions

51. In Summary
This presentation addressed:
• Package Requirements
• The importance of optimally characterizing the
radioactive material to be transported
• Hazard communications for a given package