Application of radiation protection programmes to transport of radioactive material

Full text: The principles for implementing radiation protection programmes (RPP) are detailed in the draft IAEA safety guide TS-G-1.5 'Radiation protection programmes for transport of radioactive material'. The document is described in this paper and analysis is made for typical applications to current operations carried out by consignors, carriers and consignees. Systematic establishment and application of RPPs is a way to control radiological protection during different steps of transport activity. The most widely transported packages in the world are radiopharmaceuticals by road. It is described an application of RPP for an organization involved in road transport of Type A packages containing radiopharmaceuticals. Considerations based on the radionuclides, quantities and activities transported are the basis to design and establish the scope of the RPP for the organizations involved in transport. Next stage is the determination of roles and responsibilities for each activity related to transport of radioactive materials. An approach to the dose received by workers is evaluated considering the type, category and quantity of packages, the radionuclides, the frequency of consignments and how long are the storages. The average of transports made in the last years must be taken into account and special measures intended to optimize the protection are evaluated. Tasks like monitoring, control of surface contamination and segregation measures, are designed based on the dose evaluation and optimization. The RPP also indicates main measures to follow in case of emergency during transport taking account of radionuclides, activities and category of packages for different accident scenarios. Basis for training personnel involved in handling of radioactive materials to insure they have appropriate knowledge about preparing packages, measuring dose rates, calculating transport index, labelling, marking and placarding, transport documents, etc, are considered. The RPP is a part of the management system of the organization and therefore it is subjected to requirements and work instructions including issuing, control, evaluation, validation, edition, revision and treatment of non-conformances. Conclusions of the paper remark the importance of implementing RPP systematically for activities related to transport of radioactive materials in such a way that all the transport players are included. (author)