Consignment procedures

15.24.1 Procedures before shipment

15.24.1.1 Before the first shipment of any package, the following requirements shall be fulfilled:

a) if the design pressure of the containment system exceeds 35 kPa (gauge), it shall be ensured that the containment system of each package conforms to the approved design requirements relating to the capability of that system to maintain its integrity under that pressure;

b) for each type B(U), type B(M) and type C package and for each package containing fissile material, it shall be ensured that the effectiveness of its shielding and containment and, where necessary, the heat transfer characteristics and the effectiveness of the confinement system, are within the limits applicable to, or specified for the approved design; and

c) for packages that contain fissile material, where, in order to comply with the requirements of 15.7.9.1, neutron poisons are specifically included as components of the package, checks shall be performed to confirm the presence and distribution of those neutron poisons.

15.24.1.2 Before the shipment of any package it shall be ensured that:

a) all the requirements specified in the relevant provisions of this standard have been satisfied;

b) the lifting attachments that do not meet the requirements of 15.7.1.2 have been removed or otherwise rendered incapable of being used for lifting the package in accordance with 15.7.1.3; c) each type B(U), type B(M) and type C package, and each package containing fissile material

have met all the requirements specified in the approval certificates (see 15.22);

d) each type B(U), type B(M) and type C package has approached equilibrium conditions closely enough to demonstrate compliance with the requirements for temperature and pressure, unless an exemption from these requirements has received unilateral approval;

e) for each type B(U), type B(M) and type C package, all closures, valves and other openings of the containment system through which the radioactive contents might escape, are properly closed and, where appropriate, sealed in accordance with the requirements of 15.7.6.5 to 15.7.6.9 and 15.7.6.12;

NOTE The above can be ascertained by inspection or testing (or both).

f) each special form radioactive material has satisfied all the requirements specified in the approval certificate (see 15.22.2) and the relevant provisions of this standard;

g) for each package containing fissile material, the measurement specified in 15.7.9.4(b) and the tests to demonstrate closure of a package as specified in 15.7.9.7 have been performed where applicable; and

h) each low dispersible radioactive material, has satisfied all the requirements specified in the approval certificate (see 15.22.2) and the relevant provisions of this standard.

15.24.2 Shipment approval and notification

15.24.2.1 Shipment approval

15.24.2.1.1 In addition to the approval for package design (see 15.7), multilateral shipment

approval is also required for:

a) type B(M) packages not complying with the requirements of 15.7.5.1.5 or designed to allow intermittent venting;

b) type B(M) packages containing radioactive material with an activity greater than 3 000 A1 or 3 000 A2 , as appropriate, or 1 000 TBq, whichever is the lower; and

c) packages containing fissile material if the sum of the CSIs of the packages exceeds 50.

NOTE A competent authority can authorize transport into, or through, its country without shipment approval by making specific provision in its design approval.

15.24.2.1.2 The competent authority can approve the shipment of a single or a planned series of

multiple consignment(s) of radioactive material under special arrangement if the radioactive material does not satisfy all of the applicable requirements of this standard and provided that:

a) the competent authority is satisfied that conformity with the class 7 provisions of this standard is impracticable;

b) the requisite standard of safety established by this standard has been demonstrated through alternative means;

c) the overall level of safety in transport is at least equivalent to that which would be provided if all the applicable requirements had been met; and

d) multilateral approval has been obtained for the international transport of a consignment.

15.24.2.2 Notification

15.24.2.2.1 Before the first shipment of any package requiring competent authority approval, the

consignor shall ensure that copies of each applicable competent authority certificate applying to that package design have been submitted to the competent authority of each country through, or into which, the consignment is to be transported. The notification shall reach each competent authority before commencement of the shipment, and preferably at least 7 d in advance. It is not required that the consignor await an acknowledgment from the competent authority, nor is the competent authority required to make such acknowledgment of receipt of the certificate.

15.24.2.2.2 Notification is required for each of the following types of shipment:

a) type B(U) and type C packages containing radioactive material with an activity greater than 3 000 A1 or 3 000 A2, as appropriate, or 1 000 TBq, whichever is the lower;

b) type B(M) packages; and

c) shipments under special arrangement.

15.24.2.2.3 The consignor is not required to send a separate notification if the required information

has been included in the application for shipment approval.

15.24.2.2.4 The consignment notification shall include the following:

a) sufficient information to enable the identification of the package or packages, including all applicable certificate numbers and identification marks;

b) the date of shipment, the expected date of arrival and the proposed routeing;

c) the name(s) of the radioactive material or nuclides;

d) descriptions of the physical and chemical forms of the radioactive material, whether it is a special form radioactive material or a low dispersible radioactive material; and

e) the maximum activity of the radioactive contents during transport, expressed in units of becquerel (Bq). For fissile material, the mass of fissile material in units of gram (g), or multiples thereof, may be used in place of activity.

16 Marking and labelling for transport