Leaktightness definitions for and leakage tests on packages for the transport of radioactive materials

In 1986, the International Organization for Standardization asked a group of experts representing some fifteen countries to draft a standard for the leaktightness of packagings used for the transport of radioactive materials. Sub-Committee 5 (Nuclear Fuel Technology) was put in charge of coordinating this action within the wider context of TC 85 (Nuclear Energy). This request met a widely felt need as, although many countries are directly concerned by this subject, very few of them have explicit regulations relating to it. It was in the US that the first structured approach to the problem was made: this resulted in the ANSI N 14.5 standard which was first published in 1977 then again, in a revised version, in 1987. Since then, many countries, or at least a large number of operating organizations from many different countries, have adopted this standard which, although it has not received general approval for the entirety of the specifications laid down and solutions proposed, at least has the advantage of proposing a coherent approach to the problem