TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE DESIGN CERTIFICATION PROCESS AT THEU.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

摘要

The Spent Fuel Project Office of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certifiesdesigns for Type B and fissile material transport packages. The Spent Fuel Project Office alsoconducts technical reviews for foreign-approved designs for import and export shipments. Inan effort to improve efficiency and effectiveness, the Spent Fuel Project Office developedStandard Review Plans for transportation package design review and established internalpolicies and protocols to formalize the review process. The Standard Review Plans weredeveloped to summarize the regulatory requirements for package approval, describe theprocedures by which the staff determines that these requirements have been satisfied, anddocument the practices developed by the staff in previous reviews of package applications.The Standard Review Plans are used in conjunction with a Standard Format and ContentGuide and other regulatory guidance documents developed by the NRC. Use of thesedocuments is intended to assure high quality applications for package approval and to result ina technical review that is timely and consistent with regulatory requirements. A formalizedreview process was also developed that included work prioritization, scheduling, and reviewprocess templates. The development by IAEA of a standard format for applications forpackage approval and a review guide for competent authority approved designs and shipmentsbased on Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, TS-R-1, could be usedto assist package designers and shippers involved with international transport of radioactivematerials. The author also comments on participation in the IAEA TranSAS Mission to theUnited Kingdom with respect to the package design certification process.