TUK-145/C Reference Manual. Compliance with SSR-6 and PDSR-2012

M.E. Budu, S. Komarov

French-Russian Technical Seminar on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, 11-12.02.2015

PDF version

Introduction:

– Evolution of requirements for air shipment of RM
– TUK-145/C development, safety justification and licensing

TUK-145/C Reference Manual:

– Brief presentation of the document
– Comparison of regulatory requirements
– Analysis of compliance with regulatory requirements

Conclusions:

1) The modern international and national regulatory frameworks are now sufficiently developed in comparison with the 1970s and efficiently assure the safety of spent nuclear fuel air shipments, in normal and emergency situations of transport.

2) The first Type C package for research reactor spent nuclear fuel shipments by air was created, as a universal set of technical means, which includes:

– SKODA VPVR/M cask and auxiliary equipment that provides for spent fuel assemblies’ loading from the bottomin spent fuel cooling or storage pools, as well as from the top using a set of transfer equipment;
– Special trucks and semitrailers for the TUK-145/C shipment, that can also be transported by air in AN-124-100;
– Two EAC.

2)The flexible TUK-145/C technology and its international licensing possibilities can comply with the requirements for any future shipments:

– RR SNF (liquid or solid form) for research, reprocessing or storage,
– Power reactors fuel fragments for research of failure causes,
– High-level radioactive waste,
– Sealed radioactive sources,
– Miniature Neutron Source Reactor shipments,
– Emergency shipments during war or terrorist threats or extreme meteorological events.

3) In the case of air shipments and other long route radioactive material shipments involving transit of several countries a better international harmonization of the requirements for the applications on certificates of approval for package design and shipment and their review by regulatory bodies is highly needed in order to improve the efficiency of the radioactive materials transports regulatory process worldwide. This could be achieved by the development and adoption of new IAEA guidance documents for the applicants and the regulators concerning package design and shipment application documentation and review, based on the European Union PDSR model, which has successfully started the path of harmonization for EU countries.