It is promoted as a universal transport cask. Areva has a range of Type B transport casks for used fuel. It is robust, with shock-absorbing covers at each end. In France alone, there are some shipments each year of Type B packages. This is in relation to 15 million shipments classified as 'dangerous goods', , of which are of radioactive materials of some kind. In Russia, TUK transportation packaging set casks are used to transport used nuclear fuel. Several TUK casks fit into a container or TK carrier for rail transport, each cask holding about 6 tonnes of fuel.
Each weighs over tonnes, holds 18 VVER fuel assemblies weighing 9 tonnes in a removable canister, and is designed for hotter fuel — up to 36 kW heat load. For further information see information page on Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Waste. Natural uranium is usually shipped to enrichment plants in Type 48Y cylinders, cm diameter and each holding about Due to criticality considerations, enriched uranium is shipped to fuel fabricators in smaller Type 30B cylinders, 76 cm diameter and 2.
These may be shipped with overpacks. Both kinds of uranium hexafluoride cylinder must withstand a pressure test of at least 1. Smaller amounts of high-activity materials including plutonium transported by aircraft are in 'Type C' packages, which give even greater protection than Type B packages in accident scenarios. They can survive being dropped from an aircraft at cruising altitude. Although not required by transport regulations, the nuclear industry chooses to undertake some shipments of nuclear material using dedicated, purpose-built transport vehicles or vessels.
These provisions mainly cover ship design, construction, and equipment. There are at least five small purpose-built ships ranging from to DWT, and four purpose-built ships ranging from to DWT, able to carry Type B casks and other materials.
All have double hulls separated by impact-resistant structures, together with duplication and separation of all essential systems to provide high reliability and significant contingency in the event of an accident. Twin engines operate independently. Each ship can carry up to 20 or 24 transport casks. Each ship is tonnes DWT and metres long. Pacific Grebe carries mainly wastes, whilst the other two usually carry consignments of MOX fuel.
The PNTL fleet has completed more than shipments with more than casks over some 40 years without any incident resulting in the release of radioactivity. Sigrid was built by Damen Shipyards and carried its first shipment in January It is used for moving used fuel from reactors to the CLAB interim waste storage facility.
Sigrid is equipped with a double hull, four engines, and redundant systems for safety and security. Sigrid is Sigyn was DWT and carried ten casks. It is designed for transporting spent nuclear fuel and materials of decommissioned nuclear submarines from Russian Navy bases in northwest Russia. It will be used on the Northern Sea Route, between Gremikha, Andreeva Bay, Saida Bay, Severodvinsk, and other places hosting facilities which dismantle nuclear submarines.
Spent fuel is to be delivered to Murmansk for rail shipment to Mayak. Rosatomflot has the Serebryanka DWT, metres long, built already in service. The Imandra DWT, metres long, built is described as a floating technical base but is reported to be in service transporting used fuel and wastes from the Nerpa shipyard and Gremikha to Murmansk. Rossita is an ice-class vessel and is designed to operate in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. The ship is 84 metres long and 14 m wide, has two engines, and two isolated cargo holds with a total capacity of tonnes.
Rosatomflot also operates a new vessel, the semi-submersible pontoon dock Itarus, built in Italy under a contract, and delivered in There has never been any accident in which a Type B transport cask containing radioactive materials has been breached or has leaked. A significant accident in the USA in demonstrated the integrity of a Type B cask, which was later returned to service. The safety features built into Type B containers are very significant.
For the radioactive material in a large Type B package in sea transit to become exposed, the ship's hold inside double hulls would need to rupture, the 25 cm thick steel cask would need to rupture, and the stainless steel flask or the fuel rods would need to be broken open.
Either borosilicate glass for reprocessed wastes or ceramic fuel material would then be exposed, but in either case these materials are very insoluble. The purpose-built transport ships described above are designed to withstand a side-on collision with a large oil tanker.
If the ship did sink, the casks would remain sound for many years and would be relatively easy to recover since instrumentation including location beacons would activate and monitor the casks. A Euratom Supply Agency study identified lack of harmonization and over-regulation in transport authorization for radioactive materials, particularly between countries, as a significant risk from a security of supply perspective.
Multiple layers of regulation and a lack of international consistency are considerable disincentives, and may deter companies from executing shipments.
Shipments are occasionally denied due to national competent authorities not being recognized by other countries. Most reports of denial of shipment relate to non-fissile materials, either Type B packages mainly cobalt or tantalum-niobium concentrates.
For uranium concentrates the main problem is the limited number of ports which handle them, and the relatively few marine carriers which accept them. For all radioactive materials, consignors are required to provide training to personnel handling the packages, creating significant cost and inconvenience to shippers. Any goods that pose a risk to people, property and the environment are classified as dangerous goods, which range from paints, solvents and pesticides up to explosives, flammables, and fuming acids, and are assigned to different classes under the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations :.
When transported, these goods need to be packaged correctly, as laid out in the various international and national regulations for each mode of transport, to ensure that they are carried safely to minimize the risk of an incident. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines, for transport purposes only, radioactive materials as those with specific activity greater than 74 Bq per gram.
This definition does not specify a quantity, only a concentration. As an example, pure cobalt has a specific activity of 37 TBq per gram, which is about billion times greater than the definition. However, uranium has a specific activity of only 11 kBq per gram, which is only times greater than the definition. Globally, about 20 million consignments of radioactive material are transported each year on public roads, railways, and ships.
Radioactive material is not unique to the nuclear fuel cycle. Transport is, however, an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle; most countries that mine uranium do not produce nuclear power. Though transport is a very minor cost in the nuclear fuel cycle, lack of harmonization and over-regulation in authorization creates problems for transport of all radioactive materials between countries. More specifically, protection is achieved by: Containment of radioactive contents.
Control of external radiation levels. Prevention of criticality. Prevention of damage caused by heat. Materials requiring transport Transport is an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle. Fresh fuel Uranium fuel assemblies are manufactured at fuel fabrication plants. Sweden: 40 per year by ship. UK: per year by rail. According to nuclear law, the BfE is also competent for the authorisation of transports of nuclear fuel and large sources. Transport licenses are only granted if the provisions of nuclear law and hazardous goods law are complied with.
More detailed information about the transport licenses granted by the BfE can be found in a summary table in German only.
Supervision of nuclear fuel transports is regulated as follows:. Cookies erleichtern die Bereitstellung unserer Dienste. Main Menu Zur Suche. How will radioactive material be transported?
Under the regulations for the transport of dangerous goods, the BfE is responsible for granting design approvals for transport packages. More information Authorisation of nuclear fuel transports Current transport licenses Who authorises transports of radioactive material? Design Approval of transport packages. State of Frequently Asked. How is the safety of transports of radioactive material guaranteed? Every year, about three million shipments that contain radioactive material are transported in the United States.
Radioactive material is used in medicine, power generation, research and manufacturing, and by the military. Like other products and materials, radioactive material is shipped from one location to another. This picture is a diamond with the various methods of shipping radioactive material: a plane, a train, a boat, and a tanker truck.
There is a picture of containers with markings in the middle. Source: U. Shipping radioactive material is highly regulated. The amount and type of radioactivity present in the shipment determines how it can be transported and what kind of controls are required. Some materials that are very low in radioactivity can be shipped with no, or very limited, controls. Other materials that are highly radioactive and could pose a danger to the public require controlled routes, extra security and notifications to state and local officials.
Shipping companies use special packaging, labeling and methods when transporting radioactive materials. These safety measures help keep people safe in case something goes wrong. Special packaging is required for radioactive materials. Like deciding between an envelope and a box, the type of packaging used is based on the radioactive material being shipped.
Each kind of packaging requires specific testing to make sure that it can withstand accidents, fire, and water if something goes wrong. Shippers use labels on packaging to identify the types of materials inside the package, and, when required, place a sign on the vehicle that states that radioactive material is on board. The sign also indicates how radioactive the material is. This picture shows a dual-purpose spent nuclear fuel cask being loaded onto a heavy haul road vehicle.
Department of Energy DOE.
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