Development of U.S. Regulations for the Transportation of Radioactive Materials - A Look Back Over the Past 40 Years

The discussion in this Chapter is a relatively straightforward, chronological description of the development of U.S. transportation regulations for radioactive materials over the past 40 years. Although primarily based on the development of U.S. regulations for the shipment of what is now known as Type B quantities of radioactive materials, the information presented details the interactions between a number of U.S. governmental agencies, commissions, and departments, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). For the most part, the information that follows was taken directly from the Federal Register, between 1965 and 2004, which, within the boundaries of the U.S., is considered law, or at least policy at the federal level. Starting in 1978, however, the information presented also takes a look at a series of so-called Guidance Documents, including Regulatory Guides (Reg. Guides), NUREGs, and NUREG/CRs. Developed originally by the U.S. Atomic Energy Agency (AEC), and later adapted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the NUREGs and NUREG/CRs cited in this Chapter clearly specify a preferred methodology that can be used to meet the regulatory requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71 (10 CFR Part 71, or, more simply, 10 CFR 71). As is appropriate for the discussion in this Chapter, the methodology preferred by the NRC, not as law but as guidance, was adapted directly from the requirements of the ASME's Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The information provided below is provided with little embellishment. By taking the information directly from the Federal Register, it becomes a story that tells itself. The information is self-consistent, and it provides all of the details behind the numerous policy decisions that led to the development of the U.S. regulations, as they were in their time, and as they are now