ASN Report 2020

2.3.2 Type A packages and industrial packages containing non-fissile substances Type A packages can, for example, be used to transport radionuclides for medical purposes commonly used in nuclear medicine departments, such as technetium generators. The total activity which can be contained in a type A package is limited by the regulations. Type A packages must be designed to withstand incidents which could be encountered during transportation or during handling or storage operations (small impacts, package stacking, falling of a sharp object onto the packages, exposure to rain). These situations are simulated by the following tests: ∙ exposure to a severe storm (rainfall reaching 5 cm/hour for at least 1 hour); ∙ drop test onto an unyielding surface from a height varying according to the weight of the package (maximum 1.20 metre); ∙ compression equivalent to five times the weight of the package; ∙ penetration by dropping a standard bar onto the package from a height of 1 metre. Additional tests are required if the content of the package is in liquid or gaseous form. Industrial packages allow the transportation of material with a low specific activity, or objects with limited surface contamination. Uranium-bearing materials extracted from foreign uranium mines are, for example, carried in France in industrial drums with a capacity of 200 litres loaded into industrial packages. Three sub-categories of industrial packages exist according to the hazards presented by the content. Depending on their sub- category, the industrial packages are subjected to the same tests as type A packages, some of the tests or only the general provisions applicable to excepted packages. As a result of the restrictions on the authorised contents, the consequences of the destruction of a type A package or an industrial package would remain manageable, provided that appropriate accident management measures are taken. The regulations do not therefore require that this type of package be able to withstand a severe accident. Due to the limited safety implications, type A and industrial packages are not subject to ASN approval: the design of the packages and the performance of the tests are the responsibility of the manufacturer. These packages and their safety case files are subject to spot checks during the ASN inspections. 2.3.3 Type B packages and packages containing fissile substances Type B packages are those used to transport the most radioactive substances, such as spent fuels or high-level vitrified nuclear waste. The packages containing fissile substances are industrial, A or B type packages, which are also designed to carry materials containing uranium-235 or plutonium and which can thus lead to the start of an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction. These packages are mainly used by the nuclear industry. Gamma radiography devices also fall into the type B package category. Given the high level of risk presented by these packages, the regulations require that they must be designed so that, including in the case of a severe transport accident, they maintain their ability to confine the radioactive substances and ensure radiological protection (for type B packages) as well as sub- criticality (for packages containing fissile materials). The accident conditions are simulated by the following tests: ∙ A 9m drop test onto an unyielding target. The fact that the target is unyielding means that all the energy from the drop is absorbed by the package, which is highly penalising. If a heavy package actually falls onto real ground, the ground will deform and thus absorb a part of the energy. A 9m drop onto an unyielding target can thus correspond to a fall from a far greater height onto real ground. This test can also be used to simulate the case of the vehicle colliding with an obstacle. During the 9 metres (m) free-fall test, the package reaches the target at about 50 kilometres per hour (km/h). However, this corresponds to a real impact at far greater speed, because in reality, the vehicle and obstacle would both absorb a part of the energy. ∙ A penetration test: the package is released from a height of 1 m onto a metal spike. The aim is to simulate the package being damaged by perforating objects (for example debris torn off a vehicle in the event of an accident). ∙ A fire test at 800°C for 30 minutes. This test simulates the fact that the vehicle can catch fire after an accident. ∙ An immersion test under 15 m of water for 8 hours. This test is used to test the pressure-resistance of the package if it were to fall into water (river by the side of the road or port during offloading from a ship). Certain type B packages must also undergo a more severe immersion test, which consists in immersion under 200 m of water for one hour. The first three tests (drop, penetration and fire test) must be performed in sequence on the same package specimen. They must be performed in the most penalising configuration (package orientation, outside temperature, position of content, etc.). New 2020 edition of Standard ISO 7195 This Standard: ཛྷ clarifies the specifications for the uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) transport cylinders to ensure compatibility between the various users; ཛྷ describes the design of the cylinders; ཛྷ includes the manufacturing requirements for the procurement of new cylinders designed for the transport of 0.1 kilograms or more of UF 6 ; ཛྷ sets the manufacturing requirements for the procurement of new valves and new plugs; ཛྷ defines the requirements concerning the cylinders and valve covers in service. This third edition supersedes the previous edition ISO 7195:2005. The main changes with respect to the previous edition are: ཛྷ the general structure of the document, which has been reorganised for greater clarity and easier comparison with the equivalent American standard ANSI N14.1; ཛྷ withdrawal of the 48G cylinder model, replaced by the 30C cylinder; ཛྷ introduction of countersunk head plugs for the 30 and 48 inch cylinders, in addition to the hex-head plugs; ཛྷ for the 30B, 48X and 48Y cylinders, the possibility of using non-destructive inspections as an alternative to the hydrostatic checks during the periodic inspections, provided that additional inspections are carried out during manufacturing; ཛྷ the use of different tightness test methods; ཛྷ the ban on reusing valves and plugs previously removed from the cylinders. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 271 09 – TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES 09