Type B packages

Type B packaging means packaging which meets the standards for Type A packaging, and, in addition, meets the standards for hypothetical accident conditions for transportation (1). 

Offering a Type B packaging without registering as a party to the NRC approval certificate Never obtained approval Holding an expired certificate 173.471(a) 3,700. 1,200. 

The low dispersible radioactive material criteria are derived in consistency with other safety criteria in the Regulations, as well as on the basis of established methods to demonstrate acceptable radiological consequences. The Regulations require that the performance of low dispersible material be demonstrated without taking any credit for the Type B packaging in which it is transported. 

The 3000 Aj limit for non-special form material was established taking into account risk analysis work by Hubert et al. [9] concerning Type B package performance in air transport accidents. It is also the threshold qnantity for which shipment approval of Type B(M) packages is required. 

GOLDFINCH, E.P., MACDONALD, H.F., Dosimetric aspects of permitted activity leakage rates for Type B packages for the transport of radioactive materials, Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 2 (1982) 75. 

McCLURE, J.D., et al., Relative response of Type B packagings to regulatory and other impact test environments . Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials, PATRAM 80 (Proc. Symp. Berlin, 1980), Bundesanstalt fur Materialpriifung, Berlin... 

HtiBNER, H.W., MASSLOWSKI, J.P., Interactions between crush conditions and fire resistance for Type B packages less than 500 kg , ibid. 

DIGGS, J.M., LEISHER, W.B., POPE, R.B., TRUJILLO, A.A., "Testing to define the sensitivity of small Type B packagings to the proposed IAEA crush test requirement", ibid. 

This derivation assumes that all of the released material becomes airborne and is available for inhalation, which may be a gross overestimate for many materials. Also, equilibrium conditions are assumed to pertain at all times. These factors, together with the principle that leakage from Type B packages should be minimized, indicated that the exposure of transport workers would be only a small fraction of the ICRP limits for radiation workers [1.5]. In addition, this level of conservatism was considered adequate to cover the unlikely situation of several leaking packages contained in the same vehicle. 

In the 1985 edition of the Regulations the maximum allowable release rates for Type B packages under normal transport conditions were unchanged, although some of the parameters used in the above derivation were updated. In particular, in... 

The room size assumed is larger than that assumed for an acute release under the Q system. However, the assumed exposure time is very pessimistic. Exposure for 200 h in a much more confined space of 300 m would lead to exactly the same predicted effective dose. For incidental exposure out of doors for persons in the vicinity of a leaking Type B package, the maximum inhalation dose would be very much lower. 

Type B package may be expressed as an equivalent dose limit by consideration of the exposure to a person remaining continuously downwind of the damaged package throughout the period of the release [1.34],... 

From the above expressions, is about 680. Thus the Type B package... 

These vessels can be small glass tubes, like the inserts of the BC4 and BC5 brass containers (O Fig. 63.12), whenever one can use a Type B package carrying several grams of plutonium to ship a load of samples. These containers were actually designed and qualified for use with the PAT2 container, which had received approval for the shipment of Type B quantities of Pu samples to or from the USA (Kuhn et al. 1982). Their compact size make them very attractive for shipments of gram size Pu samples in any Type B container. 

The shipper must assess the radioactivity of the materials being shipped and in comparison with their Aj and A2 values in accordance with the regulations as one of the bases for packaging selection. In general. Type A (less than the applicable Aj and A2 values) quantities can be shipped in Type A packages while Type B quantities (greater than Aj and A2 values) will require a Type B package. There are exceptions for the special classes of LSA material and SCOs that will be discussed later in this chapter. 

Type B material is a radioactive material exceeding A for special form radioactive materials or A2 for normal form radioactive materials. Recall from the introductory section that Type B quantities are regulated by the NRC. Type B packagings are therefore certified by the NRC in accordance with the testing requirements of 10 CFR part 71 for their ability to withstand accident conditions in transportation. An example of a Type B package is the Waste Control Specialists RT-100 cask, shown in Figure 17.2. 

There is no upper limit on Type B activity as far as the material definition is concerned. However, Type B packagings are limited by their certification in the isotopes and quantities of material they can carry. 

Suppliers of Type B packagings also provide detailed use instructions, or in some cases, personnel to oversee packaging use and closure. The US DOT references on the selection and use of Type B packagings are in 49 CFR 173.413 and 173.416. Type B... 

Shipping materials that can be classified as LSA are often less restrictive than shipping the materials as Type A or Type B. In particular, shipping materials as LSA allows for the use of a wider variefy of packagings that are often more versatile and less expensive than Type A or Type B packagings. These packaging options will be discussed after the discussion of SCOs because the packaging options for LSA and SCO are similar. 

Note that 49 CFR 173.427 offers a defining criterion for LSA and SCO in addition to those in the definition of LSA and SCO in 173.403 the external dose rate from the unshielded material cannot exceed 10 mSv/h (1 rem/h) at 3 m. This limit on the dose rate of the contents may drive the shipper to use a Type B package even when the contents meet the definition of LSA in 173.403, and when the external package dose requirements for shipping (49 CFR 173.441) could be met using a Type A package. 

Allowable fissile materials packaging is described in 49 CFR 173.417. A fissile-rated Type A or Type B packaging is required for fissile material. Recall that fissile materials cannot be shipped as LSA unless they are fissile excepted per 49 CFR 173.453, so industrial packages do not qualify (with the possible exception of IP-3 packages shown to comply with Type A and fissile requirements). Limitations on the use of Type A packagings for fissile shipments are set forth in 10 CFR 71. 

The NRC requires licensees shipping waste in Type B packages in excess of certain limits notify each state on the route in advance of the shipment, as described in 10 CFR 71.97. The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) publishes a helpful list of these and other State and Federal Agencies Involved with the Transportation of Radioactive Material a document available at no cost on the organization s website http // www.crcpd.org... 

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