Transportation for the Nuclear Industry

The transport requirements of the nuclear industry are unique in many respects. Thi s is not because cargoes are particularly large or hazardous by compari son wi th other industries but because standards of performance required in every aspect of the activity are so much greater than those required for any other industry. Transport of nuclear materials is subject to existing statutory regulations applied not only nationally but internationally. In addition to this, users of transport demand the highest standards of performance for their own purposes particularly in the area of quality assurance. Similar considerations also apply to the transport of non-nuclear materials where the transport link often has to tie in with project management and quality assurance requirements. Safety and security of nuclear materials are of paramount importance but even when these aspects are of a completely acceptable standard public attitudes to the transport activities have to be addressed adequately. The transport system itself consists of many components. The route, the vehicles, the containers, and the individual packages. The performance of each component determines the performance of the total system: all these factors were presented in the 1988 Conference on Transportation for the Nuclear Industry, giving a broad over-view of current practice together with wide ranging consideration of future requirements and developments.