Abstract

The RAM package design certification process has two important elements, testing and acceptance. These terms sound very similar but they have specific meanings. Qualification testing in the context of this study is the imposition of simulated accident test conditions upon the candidate package design. (Normal transportation environments may also be included.) Following qualification testing, the acceptance criteria provide the performance levels which, if demonstrated, indicate the ability of the RAM package to sustain the severity of the qualification testing sequence and yet maintain specified levels of package integrity. This study has used Severities of Transportation Accidents as a data base to examine the regulatory test criteria which are required to be met by small packages containing Type B quantities of radioactive material (RAM). The basic findings indicate that the present regulatory test standards provide significantly higher levels of protection for the surface transportation modes (truck, rail) than for RAM packages shipped by aircraft. It should also be noted that various risk assessment studies have shown that the risk to the public due to severe transport accidents by surface and air transport modes is very low. A key element in this study was the quantification of the severity of the transportationmore » accident environment and the severity of the present qualification test standards (called qualification test standards in this document) so that a direct comparison could be made between them to assess the effectiveness of the existing qualification test standards. The manner in which this was accomplished is described.« le Document type: Report