Abstracts on Transport of Radioactive Materials

Abstract

When compared to many other countries, the system of regulating nuclear transport in the USA and the organisational structure of that system often appears overly complex and confusing to some persons outside the USA (and sometimes even to persons in the USA). The objective of this paper is to provide a timely reference source for the readers of The International Journal of Radioactive Materials Transport, particularly those outside the USA, and hopefully to help to clarify some of that confusion. The sources of regulations and the structures of the primary regulatory organisations of the USA and their interfaces and responsibilities are described. The major features of the regulations of the principal regulators—The US Department of Transportation and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission—are discussed. Although the nuclear transport regulations of the USA have, since 1968, been based essentially on the IAEA standards contained in Safety Series No 6, a few notable differences do exist between the application of certain of those standards in the USA regulations and the relevant Safety Series No 6 standard. The most notable of these differences and the rationale for the existence of the difference are discussed.