Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015 (SOR/2015-145)

Packaging and Transport of Radioactive Material

Marginal note:General obligations

• 25 (1) Every person who transports, or presents for transport, radioactive material must comply with the requirements of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.

• Marginal note:Consignor’s responsibilities

  (2) Every consignor, other than a consignor of an excepted package, must comply with the requirements of the IAEA Regulations in respect of

  • (a) the provision of information for carriers;

  • (b) the notification of competent authorities; and

  • (c) the possession of certificates and instructions.

• Marginal note:Advising consignee

  (3) The consignor must advise the consignee that the material is going to be transported.

• Marginal note:Carrier’s responsibilities

  (4) Every carrier of radioactive material must

  • (a) comply, in respect of transport and storage, with the requirements of the IAEA Regulations except in respect of placarding;

  • (b) transport the material in accordance with the consignor’s instructions; and

  • (c) implement and maintain work procedures to ensure compliance with these Regulations and keep a record documenting those procedures.

Marginal note:Packages for transport

• 26 (1) A consignor may present for transport and a carrier may transport

  • (a) radioactive material if the material is contained in

    • (i) an excepted package,

    • (ii) a Type IP-1, Type IP-2 or Type IP-3 package,

    • (iii) a Type A package,

    • (iv) a Type B or Type C package of a certified design,

    • (v) a package of a certified design used to transport fissile material, or

    • (vi) a package of a certified design used to transport 0.1 kg or more of uranium hexafluoride;

  • (b) the following if a licence has been issued for that purpose under subsection 24(2) of the Act:

    • (i) a nuclear substance contained in a large object,

    • (ii) a nuclear substance whose transport does not meet all of the requirements of these Regulations,

    • (iii) a nuclear substance whose transport requires a special use vessel,

    • (iv) a nuclear substance whose transport requires multilateral approval of shipments in accordance with the IAEA Regulations, and

    • (v) a package that is in transit and is of a design that has been approved as a Type B(U)-96 or Type C-96 package by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations;

  • (c) unpackaged LSA-I material or an unpackaged SCO-I, in accordance with the IAEA Regulations; and

  • (d) a package that contains 0.1 kg or more of uranium hexafluoride and that is of a design that has been approved as a Type H(U)-96 package by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations.

• Marginal note:Activity or mass limits

  (2) The activity or mass of the radioactive material contained in the package must be within the applicable limit for that type of package as set out

  • (a) in the IAEA Regulations;

  • (b) in any applicable certificate; and

  • (c) in any applicable approval issued by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations.

• Marginal note:Previously not requiring certification

  (3) Despite subsection (1), a package that does not require certification by the Commission and whose design meets the requirements of the 1985 or 1985 (as amended in 1990) edition of the IAEA Regulations may be used if

  • (a) the package meets the applicable requirements of section 25; and

  • (b) the packaging was neither manufactured nor modified after December 31, 2003.

• Marginal note:Previously certified

  (4) Despite subsection (1), a package manufactured to a package design certified under the requirements of the 1973, 1973 (as amended), 1985 or 1985 (as amended in 1990) edition of the IAEA Regulations may continue to be used if

  • (a) the package meets the applicable requirements of section 25;

  • (b) its manufacture began before

    • (i) January 1, 1996, for designs that meet the requirements of the 1973 or 1973 (as amended) edition of the IAEA Regulations, or

    • (ii) January 1, 2007, for designs that meet the requirements of the 1985 or 1985 (as amended in 1990) edition of the IAEA Regulations; or

  • (c) it contains fissile material that meets the applicable requirements for fissile material of the editions of the IAEA Regulations issued after 2009.

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (5) For packages prepared in accordance with the requirements of an edition of the IAEA Regulations before the 2012 edition, if the material was considered fissile-excepted radioactive material under that earlier edition, and if it is neither excluded from the definition of fissile material nor excepted from the provisions applicable to fissile material in the editions of those Regulations issued after 2009, the package may be transported, provided that it is under exclusive use and the following formula yields a result of less than one:

  (A/B) + (C/D)

  where

  A

  is the mass in grams of uranium-235;

  B

  is 400 if the fissile material is mixed with substances that have an average hydrogen density less than or equal to water, or 290 in all other cases;

  C

  is the mass in grams of all other fissile nuclides, as defined in the IAEA Regulations; and

  D

  is 250 if the fissile material is mixed with substances that have an average hydrogen density less than or equal to water, or 180 in all other cases.

Marginal note:Transport requirements for LSA and SCO

• 27 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), both LSA material and an SCO must be transported in Type IP-3 packages.

• Marginal note:No escape of radioactive contents

  (2) LSA-I material and an SCO-I may be transported unpackaged in accordance with the IAEA Regulations, but must be transported in a manner that ensures that, under routine conditions of transport, there will be no escape of the radioactive contents from the conveyance or any loss of shielding.

• Marginal note:Transport in accordance with IAEA Regulations

  (3) LSA material and an SCO may be transported in Type IP-1 packages and Type IP-2 packages in accordance with the IAEA Regulations if the LSA material and the SCO

  • (a) are transported in conveyances that are not carrying passengers;

  • (b) are transported in conveyances or freight containers from one consignor only; and

  • (c) are only loaded at the consignor’s location and unloaded at the consignee’s location.

Marginal note:Responsibilities of consignors and carriers under IAEA Regulations

• 28 (1) Consignors and carriers of radioactive material must comply with the IAEA Regulations in respect of

  • (a) requirements to be met before the first shipment and before each shipment;

  • (b) requirements for the transport of other goods;

  • (c) requirements and controls for contamination and for leaking packages;

  • (d) requirements and controls for transport of excepted packages;

  • (e) the determination of the transport index;

  • (f) the determination of the criticality safety index;

  • (g) the limits on the transport index, criticality safety index and radiation levels;

  • (h) the determination of categories for packages, overpacks and freight containers; and

  • (i) the marking and labelling of packages, overpacks and freight containers, except that the figures illustrating labels found in the IAEA Regulations must be replaced by the corresponding illustrations for Class 7 radioactive materials that are set out in the Appendix to Part 4 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Despite subsection (1), a consignor may present for transport and a carrier may transport, by road, radioactive material in a package, or a package within an overpack, that is not labelled in accordance with the IAEA Regulations, if

  • (a) the package or overpack contains or is an exposure device of a model that is certified, and

    • (i) the package or overpack is transported with goods from one consignor only and in a conveyance that is not carrying passengers,

    • (ii) the package or overpack is transported in a conveyance that displays on each side and on each end a placard for Class 7 radioactive materials as set out in the Appendix to Part 4 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, and

    • (iii) both the package and the overpack, if one is used, are clearly marked with the word “RADIOACTIVE” or “RADIOACTIF”;

  • (b) the package is an excepted package; or

  • (c) the package or overpack contains only LSA-I material other than uranium hexafluoride and

    • (i) the package or overpack is transported with goods from one consignor only and in a conveyance that is not carrying passengers,

    • (ii) the package or overpack is only loaded at the consignor’s location and unloaded at the consignee’s location,

    • (iii) the package or overpack is transported by road in a conveyance or freight container that displays on each side and on each end a placard for Class 7 radioactive materials as set out in the Appendix to Part 4 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, and

    • (iv) both the package and the overpack, if one is used, are clearly marked with the words “RADIOACTIVE LSA-I” or “LSA-I RADIOACTIF”.

• Marginal note:Definition

  (3) For the purpose of subsection (2), certified and exposure device have the same meaning as in section 1 of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (4) Despite subsection (1), a consignor may present for transport and a carrier may transport radioactive material in accordance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code or the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.

• Marginal note:English or French may be used

  (5) If the English and French versions of the IAEA Regulations each prescribe the use of a word, the word prescribed by either version may be used.

Marginal note:Particulars of consignment

• 29 (1) Every consignor of radioactive material must include in the transport documents for the consignment the particulars of consignment that are required by the IAEA Regulations, which particulars must be clearly and indelibly printed.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply

  • (a) to an excepted package if the transport documents contain the following information:

    • (i) the identification of the consignor and consignee,

    • (ii) the United Nations number assigned to the material as set out in the IAEA Regulations, preceded by the letters “UN”,

    • (iii) the proper shipping name as set out in the IAEA Regulations,

    • (iv) the identification mark for the certification described in each of sections 12 to 14, as applicable, and

    • (v) the identification mark of any applicable special form radioactive material approval issued by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations; or

  • (b) to a consignor who provides transport documents that have been prepared in accordance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code or the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.

• Marginal note:Obligation

  (3) Every carrier who transports a consignment of radioactive material must ensure that it is accompanied by the transport documents referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

• Marginal note:Exception for exposure devices

  (4) The transport documents in respect of radioactive material that is in an exposure device, referred to in paragraph 28(2)(a), transported in accordance with that paragraph do not need to meet the requirements set out in the IAEA Regulations for the category of the package and transport index.