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

Marginal note:Application for licence

7 An application for a licence under subsection 24(2) of the Act to transport a nuclear substance must contain

• (a) the applicable information required by section 3 of the General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations;

• (b) the information required by section 5 of the Nuclear Security Regulations if the substance is a Category I, II or III nuclear material, as defined in those Regulations;

• (c) the name, postal address and telephone number of each consignor and consignee;

• (d) if the nuclear substance is one of those referred to in paragraph 6(1)(b),

  • (i) a description of the nuclear substance, including the name, chemical form and physical state, the activity — or, in the case of fissile material, the mass — of each nuclear substance in a package and the total activity or mass in the consignment,

  • (ii) the country of origin of the nuclear substance,

  • (iii) the reason for selecting a route through Canada,

  • (iv) the name of each carrier,

  • (v) the dates, times and locations of its arrival into and departure from Canada and of any scheduled stop or transshipment in Canada,

  • (vi) the number of the certificate or approval applicable to the package,

  • (vii) the number of packages to be transported,

  • (viii) the types of conveyance to be used during transit,

  • (ix) if a vessel is to be used as a conveyance during transit, the name of the vessel and its flag state,

  • (x) the United Nations number for the nuclear substance, and

  • (xi) the reference number of the emergency response assistance plan that is approved under section 7 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 or a reference to the effect that a plan is not required, as the case may be;

• (e) if the nuclear substance is contained in a large object,

  • (i) information that demonstrates that the internal contamination

    • (A) is contained within the object and that all openings are sealed,

    • (B) meets the requirements applicable to an SCO-I or SCO-II as set out in the IAEA Regulations,

    • (C) is caused by a substance that is classified as non-fissile or fissile-excepted radioactive material, and

    • (D) is caused by a substance that is in solid form and that any liquid content is negligible,

  • (ii) information that demonstrates that the large object

    • (A) meets the free drop test requirements set out in the IAEA Regulations for the industrial package type referred to in section 27 for the SCO classification determined for the internal contamination,

    • (B) does not have a dose rate on contact of more than 2 mSv/h from the accessible surfaces of the object, as prepared for shipment, and

    • (C) does not have more than 4 Bq/cm² of contamination on the exterior surfaces,

  • (iii) a detailed transport plan covering all activities associated with the shipment, including

    • (A) radiation protection,

    • (B) emergency response, and

    • (C) any special precautions or special administrative or operational controls that are to be employed during transport, and

  • (iv) details of the applicable management system;

• (f) if the transport of the nuclear substance cannot meet the requirements of these Regulations,

  • (i) information that demonstrates that the overall level of safety in transport is at least equivalent to that which would be provided if all the applicable requirements of these Regulations were met,

  • (ii) a statement of the reasons why the consignment cannot meet the requirements of these Regulations, and

  • (iii) a statement of any special precautions or special administrative or operational controls that are to be employed during transport to compensate for the inability to meet the requirements of these Regulations;

• (g) if the transport of the nuclear substance requires a special use vessel,

  • (i) the vessel owner’s and operator’s contact information, including, as applicable, their names, postal addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers,

  • (ii) a copy of the radiation protection program applicable to the shipment,

  • (iii) details of the consignment,

  • (iv) information on the stowage arrangements for the duration of the voyage, including for any consignments loaded or unloaded at ports of call en route,

  • (v) the dates, times and locations of arrival into and departure from Canada and of any scheduled stop in Canada,

  • (vi) a copy of any certificate or approval applicable to packages or materials in the consignment,

  • (vii) the name of the vessel and its flag state, and

  • (viii) a copy of any document issued by the competent authority of the vessel’s flag state approving the radiation protection program; and

• (h) if the transport of the nuclear substance requires approval of shipment in accordance with the IAEA Regulations,

  • (i) the period of time, related to the shipment, for which the approval is sought,

  • (ii) information on the radioactive contents, the expected types of conveyance and the probable or proposed route,

  • (iii) details of how the precautions and administrative or operational controls referred to in the approval for the package design, if applicable, that was issued in accordance with the IAEA Regulations are to be put into effect,

  • (iv) a copy of the applicable approvals for the package design, and

  • (v) in the case of fissile material, information on the sum of criticality safety indexes and any related safety assessment, emergency response plan and administrative or operational controls.

Packaging Requirements

Marginal note:Type H(M) packages

8 Type H(M) packages must meet the following requirements:

• (a) they must be designed and maintained to meet national or international standards other than the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO 7195 entitled Nuclear Energy — Packaging of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for transport, as amended from time to time, provided that an equivalent level of safety is maintained;

• (b) they must withstand, without leakage and without unacceptable stress, a hydraulic test at an internal pressure of at least 1.38 MPa;

• (c) they must withstand, without loss or dispersal of uranium hexafluoride, the free drop test set out in the IAEA Regulations for normal conditions of transport;

• (d) they must withstand, without rupture of the containment system, the thermal test set out in the IAEA Regulations for accident conditions of transport, unless they are designed to contain 9 000 kg or more of uranium hexafluoride; and

• (e) they must not be equipped with pressure relief devices.

Marginal note:Type H(U) packages

9 Type H(U) packages must meet the following requirements:

• (a) they must be designed and maintained to meet the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO 7195 entitled Nuclear Energy — Packaging of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for transport, as amended from time to time;

• (b) they must withstand, without leakage and without unacceptable stress, as specified in standard ISO 7195, as amended from time to time, the hydraulic test set out in the IAEA Regulations;

• (c) they must withstand, without loss or dispersal of uranium hexafluoride, the free drop test set out in the IAEA Regulations for normal conditions of transport;

• (d) they must withstand, without rupture of the containment system, the thermal test set out in the IAEA Regulations for accident conditions of transport; and

• (e) they must not be equipped with pressure relief devices.

Certification

Marginal note:Requirement to certify design of prescribed equipment

• 10 (1) The design of the following types of prescribed equipment must be certified by the Commission or a designated officer before the design is used:

  • (a) Type B and Type C packages;

  • (b) packages used to transport fissile material;

  • (c) packages used to transport 0.1 kg or more of uranium hexafluoride;

  • (d) special form radioactive material; and

  • (e) low dispersible radioactive material.

• Marginal note:Approval by foreign competent authority

  (2) The design of the following types of prescribed equipment may be used without being certified if, before the design is used, it is approved by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations:

  • (a) special form radioactive material, if it is being transported;

  • (b) a Type B(U)-96 or Type C-96 package, if it is in transit; and

  • (c) a Type H(U)-96 package, if it contains 0.1 kg or more of uranium hexafluoride.

• Marginal note:Certification of subcriticality of fissile-excepted radioactive material

  (3) The calculation of a value demonstrating that fissile-excepted radioactive material will remain subcritical must be certified by the Commission or a designated officer before the value is used, except in relation to the following materials:

  • (a) uranium enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 1% by mass and with a plutonium and uranium-233 content not exceeding 1% of the mass of uranium-235, provided that the fissile nuclides are distributed essentially homogeneously throughout the material and any uranium-235 that is present in metallic, oxide or carbide forms must not form a lattice arrangement;

  • (b) liquid solutions of uranyl nitrate enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 2% by mass, with a plutonium and uranium-233 content not exceeding 0.002% of the mass of uranium, and with a minimum nitrogen to uranium (N/U) atomic ratio of 2;

  • (c) uranium with a maximum uranium enrichment of 5% by mass of uranium-235 provided that

    • (i) there is no more than 3.5 g of uranium-235 per package,

    • (ii) the plutonium and uranium-233 content does not exceed 1% of the mass of uranium-235 per package, and

    • (iii) the amount of fissile nuclides in the consignment is limited to 45 g;

  • (d) fissile nuclides with a total mass not greater than 2.0 g per package, provided that the total mass of fissile nuclides in the consignment is limited to 15 g; and

  • (e) fissile nuclides with a total mass not greater than 45 g per consignment, either packaged or unpackaged, provided that it is transported under exclusive use.

• Marginal note:Certification of calculation of values

  (4) The following calculations must be certified by the Commission or a designated officer before the value is used:

  • (a) the calculation of the basic radionuclide value for radioactive material that has a basic radionuclide value that is not listed in the IAEA Regulations; and

  • (b) the calculation of the alternative activity limit for an instrument or article that has an alternative activity limit for an exempt consignment.

Marginal note:Application for certification of design

• 11 (1) An application for certification of a design for the types of prescribed equipment referred to in subsection 10(1) must include the information required for the applicable approval under the IAEA Regulations and

  • (a) the number of any applicable approval issued by a foreign competent authority, in accordance with the IAEA Regulations;

  • (b) in respect of a package design,

    • (i) the recommended inspection and servicing program, and

    • (ii) instructions for packing, transport, receiving, maintenance and unpacking; and

  • (c) any other information necessary to demonstrate that the design meets the requirements of these Regulations.

• Marginal note:Observing of test

  (2) An applicant must give the Commission, or a designated officer, a reasonable opportunity to observe any test that the applicant intends to conduct to demonstrate the compliance of a design with these Regulations, including reasonable notice of the date and time of the test.

• Marginal note:New application for certification

  (3) No later than 60 days after the day on which the certificate of a design expires, an applicant may make a new application to the Commission or a designated officer to certify the design if the technical specifications of the design have not been modified. The application must include

  • (a) a statement confirming that the drawings and procedures previously submitted have not been modified or, if they have been modified, a copy of the revised drawings and procedures and a statement confirming that the modifications are without technical significance and do not affect the safety of the design;

  • (b) a statement confirming that each type of prescribed equipment referred to in subsection 10(1) has been produced and maintained in compliance with the drawings and procedures previously submitted;

  • (c) a statement confirming that the instructions previously submitted in respect of the certified design have not been modified;

  • (d) unless previously submitted, the model number and drawings of any capsule containing radioactive material;

  • (e) a list of the serial numbers used for the certified design, other than a certified design referred to in paragraph (f);

  • (f) in respect of a design that was certified after approval by a foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations, a list of the serial numbers currently in use or intended for use in Canada;

  • (g) a list of the known users in Canada of the latest certified design;

  • (h) a summary of the maintenance performed and any operational or maintenance problems encountered with the certified design, including the date, the nature of the problem and any action taken;

  • (i) a copy of any applicable approval issued by the foreign competent authority in accordance with the IAEA Regulations since the last certification;

  • (j) a copy of the documents submitted to the foreign competent authority to obtain each approval; and

  • (k) any other information necessary to demonstrate that the design meets the applicable requirements of these Regulations.