Transportation of Radioactive Material

Nevada Technical Associates, Inc.

Phone 702-564-2798
P.O. Box 93355, Las Vegas, NV 89193

Our Transportation of Radioactive Materials course is designed for radiation safety officers, safety officers, technicians, managers and others who may be involved in transporting radioactive materials or in preparing radioactive materials for transport. This course will cover the applicable 49 CFR DOT and 10 CFR NRC transportation of radioactive material regulations. The course will cover DOT 49 CFR Parts 170 - 189 with emphasis on Parts 172 - 178 and 10 CFR 71. These regulations cover hazardous material classification, hazardous waste, labeling, types of packaging and containers, packaging and container limits, radiation level standards, and reporting and record keeping requirements. Fissile and Type B materials are not covered in detail.

The course will also cover 10 CFR 61 (NRC Land Disposal of Radioactive Material) and related requirements from 10 CFR 19, 20 and 40. The course includes package and shipping document preparation exercises. Students who complete the course and pass an examination will receive a certificate. This certificate, along with the training manual, should be used by the employer to document the training as required by 49 CFR 172.

We have recently added to the course a section on regulations related to air transport of radioactive dangerous goods. The training will be based on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Air cargo carriers are requiring proof that the shipper has completed IATA-based training before they will accept packages for air shipment.

This course is approved for continuing education units from the American Academy of Health Physics (16 units).

We are offering the Transportation of Radioactive Materials course at locations as given below. Click on the link for more details. The fee for the course is $850.

Las Vegas, Nevada (March 3 - 5, 2008 and November 5 - 7, 2008)

Orlando, Florida (Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2008)

Atlanta Georgia (July 14 - 16, 2008)

Background Information

Roles of NRC and DOT

The transportation of radioactive materials is regulated jointly by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The responsibilities of the two agencies are generally divided as follows:

* DOT - Regulates shippers and carriers of hazardous materials, including radioactive material. It is responsible for such items as vehicle safety, routing, shipping papers, and emergency response information and shipper/carrier training requirements.

* NRC - Regulates users of radioactive material in 17 states (33 states regulate material within their borders) and approves the design, fabrication, use and maintenance of shipping containers for more hazardous radioactive material shipments. It also regulates the physical protection of commercial spent fuel in transit against sabotage or other malicious acts.

Transport of Radioactive Materials

The NRC requires radioactive materials to be shipped in accordance with the hazardous materials transportation safety regulations of DOT. Millions of “packages” of radioactive material are shipped throughout the United States annually by rail, air, sea, and over roads. They contain small quantities of radioactive material that are typically used in industry and medicine.

These packages are intended to provide a safe and economical means of transporting relatively small quantities of radioactive material. It is assumed that these packages could be damaged in an accident and that a portion of the contents could be released. The DOT regulations, therefore, prescribe limits on the maximum amounts of radioactivity that can be transported in these packages, such that doses from any accidents involving these packages will have no substantial health risks. Examples could include transport of smoke detectors, watch dials, radiopharmaceuticals, and slightly contaminated equipment such as syringes used to administer radiopharmaceuticals.