A shipment of spent fuel by road from origin to destination under special arrangement - an experience

This paper discusses briefly a recent experience in the shipment of spent fuel under special arrangement by road from a nuclear power station to a storage facility in India. The container (cask) used for shipment of spent fuel needs to be approved by the competent authority. If a package which is not approved by the competent authority due to lack of meeting some of the regulatory requirements, is to be used for transport of spent fuel, it can be transported under special arrangement only with prior permission from competent authority. However, it is required to ensure that the overall standard of safety provided during the carriage, taking in to account the protection afforded by the operational controls, during the actual movement, is no less than that if the relevant provisions of the regulations had been met. (author)