U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Clarification of Certain Requirements for Exclusive-Use Shipments

HPPOS-085 PDR-9111210234

Title: Clarification of Certain Requirements for

Exclusive-Use Shipments

See IE Information Notice No. 80-32, Rev. 1, entitled as

above and dated February 12, 1982. This document clarifies

guidance on radiation limits for open exclusive use

vehicles and use of packages within an outer shield. In

some cases, the inner container plus shield is the

"package" while in others, the outer shield may constitute

a closed transport vehicle.

The radiation limits that apply to shipments being

transported by an open exclusive-use transport vehicle must

follow the constraints of 49 CFR 173.393 (j) (3) and (4);

e.g., 10 mrem/hr at 2 meters from the open planes projected

by the outer lateral edges of the vehicle and 2 mrem/hr in

any normally occupied area of the vehicle (or cab). NRC

has been informed by DOT that the existing language of 49

CFR 173.393 (j) does not clearly reflect the original

intent of the regulation; i.e., to limit the radiation

level at the accessible exterior surface of a package on an

open exclusive-use vehicle to 200 mrem/hr (such as the same

limit applied to the surface of a closed transport vehicle)

and is taking steps to revise 49 CFR 173.393 (j). In the

interim, NRC licensees are cautioned to adhere to a surface

radiation level limit of 200 mrem/hr on a package

transported by an open exclusive-use transport vehicle.

[Note: This problem was addressed in the current revision

of 40 CFR 173. See 49 CFR 173.441 (b) and also 10 CFR

71.47 (a).]

A definition of what constitutes a "package" is illustrated

in the enclosures to IE Information Notice No. 80-32, Rev.

1. Generally speaking, the criteria considered include the

following: whether any single inner container has a

radiation level of less than 1 rem/hr at 3 feet [49 CFR

173.393 (j) (1)]; and whether any single inner container,

if bearing LSA material, has a quantity of radioactivity

exceeding Type A [10 CFR 71.7 (b), 71.11 (b) (1), 71.12

(b), and 71.35].

With the above considerations and the DOT definitions of

"closed transport vehicle" [49 CFR 173.389 (q)] and

"packaging" [49 CFR 171.8], each inner drum within an outer

shield integrally attached to the vehicle may be considered

a "package" provided that each inner drum complies with 10

CFR 173.393 (j) (1) [1 rem/hr at 3 feet], and also provided

that the content within any single inner drum does not

exceed a Type A quantity of LSA material. In this

configuration, the outer enclosure may be considered as the

closed transport vehicle and may incorporate integral

shielding to meet the vehicle limit of 173.393 (j) (2) [200

mrem/hr]. The inner drums are marked as packages and the

outer enclosure placarded as a vehicle.

The combination of inner container plus the outer shield

are considered the "package" if any single inner container

has a quantity of radioactivity as LSA exceeding Type A or

if any single inner container must be certified as Type A

by the NRC Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Standards.

Regulatory references: 10 CFR 71, 49 CFR 173

Subject codes: 7.1, 12.17

Applicability: All