Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. A general
license is issued to any licensee to transport, or to deliver to a carrier for
transport, licensed material in a package for which a license, certificate of
compliance, or other approval has been issued by the NRC.
1. This general license applies only to a
licensee that has a quality assurance program approved by the Department as
satisfying
R9-7-1507;
2. This general license applies only to a
licensee that:
a. Has a copy of the license,
certificate of compliance, or other approval of the package, and has the
drawings and other documents referenced in the approval relating to the use and
maintenance of the packaging and to the actions to be taken before
shipment;
b. Complies with the
terms and conditions of the license, certificate, or other approval, as
applicable, and the applicable requirements of this Article;
c. Before the licensee's first use of the
package, submits in writing to the Department and to ATTN: Document Control
Desk, Director, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards, using an appropriate method listed in
10 CFR
71.1(a), the licensee's
name, license number, and the package identification number specified in the
package approval;
d. The licensee shall
make available to the Department for inspection, upon reasonable notice, all
records required by this part. Records are only valid if stamped, initialed, or
signed and dated by authorized personnel, or otherwise authenticated;
and
e. The licensee shall maintain sufficient written
records to furnish evidence of the quality of packaging. The records to be
maintained include results of the determinations required by
10 CFR
71.85; design, fabrication, and assembly
records; results of reviews, inspections, tests, and audits; results of
monitoring work performance and materials analyses; and results of maintenance,
modification, and repair activities. Inspection, test, and audit records must
identify the inspector or data recorder, the type of observation, the results,
the acceptability, and the action taken in connection with any deficiencies
noted. These records must be retained for three years after the life of the
packaging to which they apply.
3. This general license applies only when the
package approval authorizes use of the package under this general
license.
4. For a Type B or fissile
material package, the design of which was approved by NRC before April 1, 1996,
the general license is subject to the additional restrictions of subsection
(B).
B. Type B packages.
1. Before the first use of any packaging for
the shipment of licensed material, refer to
10 CFR 71.85(a), (b)
and (c).
2. A Type B(U) package, a Type B(M) package,
a low specific activity (LSA) material package or a fissile material package,
previously approved by the NRC but without the "-85" designation in the
identification number of the NRC certificate of compliance, may be used under
the general license of subsection (A) with the following additional conditions:
a. Fabrication of the packaging is
satisfactorily completed by April 1, 1999 as demonstrated by application of its
model number in accordance with
10 CFR
71.85(c);
b. A package that is used for a shipment to a
location outside the United States is subject to multilateral approval as
defined in
49
CFR 173.403, revised January 8, 2015,
incorporated by reference, available under
R9-7-101,
and containing no future editions or amendments; and
c. A serial number which uniquely identifies
each package which conforms to the approved design and is assigned to, and
legibly and durably marked on, the outside of each package.
3. A licensee may modify the design and
authorized contents of a Type B package, or a fissile material package,
previously approved by NRC, provided:
a. The
modifications of a Type B package are not significant with respect to the
design, operating characteristics, or safe performance of the containment
system, when the package is subjected to the tests specified in
10 CFR
71.71 and
71.73;
b. The modifications of a fissile material
package are not significant, with respect to the prevention of criticality,
when the package is subjected to the tests specified in
10 CFR
71.71 and
71.73;
and
c. The modifications to the
package satisfy the requirements of this Section.
4. The NRC will revise the package
identification number to designate previously approved package designs as B(U),
B(M), AF, BF, or A as applicable, and with the identification number suffix
"-85" after receipt of an application demonstrating that the design meets the
requirements of this Section.
5.
For purposes of this Section, package types are defined in
10
CFR 71.4.
C. A general license is issued to any
licensee of the Department to transport fissile material, or to deliver to a
carrier for transport, licensed material in a specification container for
fissile material or for a Type B quantity of radioactive material as specified
in 49 CFR 173, revised July 16, 2018, and 49 CFR 178, revised March 11, 2013,
incorporated by reference, available under
R9-7-101,
and containing no future editions or amendments, if the following requirements
are met:
1. The licensee maintains a quality
assurance program approved by the Department as satisfying
R9-7-1507;
2. The licensee:
a. Maintains a copy of the specification;
and
b. Complies with the terms and
conditions of the specification and the applicable requirements in 10 CFR 71,
Sub-parts A, G, and H;
3.
The licensee does not use the specification container for a shipment to a
location outside the United States, except by multilateral approval, as defined
in 49 CFR 173.403,
revised January 1, 2015, incorporated by reference, available under
R9-7-101,
and containing no future editions or amendments;
4. The general license applies only when a
package's contents:
a. Contain no more than a
Type A quantity of radioactive material; and
b. Contain less than 500 total grams of
beryllium, graphite, or hydrogenous material enriched in
deuterium;
5. The general
license applies only to packages containing fissile material that are labeled
with a CSI which:
a. Has been determined in
accordance with subsection (E);
b.
Has a value less than or equal to 10; and
c. For a shipment of multiple packages
containing fissile material, the sum of the CSIs must be less than or equal to
50 (for shipment on a nonexclusive use conveyance) and less than or equal to
100 (for shipment on an exclusive use conveyance); and
6. The CSI value meets the following
requirements:
a. The value for the CSI must be
greater than or equal to the number calculated by the following equation:
CSI=10[(grams of 235U/X) + (grams of 235U/Y) + grams of 235U/Z)];
b. The calculated CSI must be rounded up to
the first decimal place;
c. The
values of X, Y, and Z used in the CSI equation must be taken from Tables 71-1
or 71-2 as appropriate located in
10 CFR
71.22;
d. If Table 71-2 is used to obtain the value
of X, then the values for the terms in the equation for uranium-233 and
plutonium must be assumed to be zero; and
e. Table 71-1 values for X, Y, and Z must be
used to determine the CSI if:
i. Uranium-233
is present in the package;
ii. The
mass of plutonium exceeds 1 percent of the mass of uranium-235;
iii. The uranium is of unknown uranium-235
enrichment or greater than 24 weight percent enrichment; or
iv. Substances having a moderating
effectiveness (i.e., an average hydrogen density greater than H2O) (e.g.,
certain hydrocarbon oils or plastics) are present in any form, except as
polyethylene used for packing or wrapping.
D. Foreign packaging.
1. A general license is issued to any
licensee of the Department to transport, or to deliver to a carrier for
transport, licensed material in a package the design of which has been approved
in a foreign national competent authority certificate that has been
revali-dated by the Federal Department of Transportation as meeting the
applicable requirements of
49
CFR 171.23, revised March 30, 2017,
incorporated by reference, available under
R9-7-101,
and containing no future editions or amendments.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this
Section, the general license applies only to a licensee who has a quality
assurance program approved by the Department as satisfying the applicable
provisions of
R9-7-1507.
3. This general license applies only to:
a. Shipments made to or from locations
outside the United States.
b. A
licensee that:
i. Has a copy of the applicable
certificate, the revalidation, and the drawings and other documents referenced
in the certificate, relating to the use and maintenance of the packaging and to
the actions to be taken before shipment; and
ii. Complies with the terms and conditions of
the certificate and revalidation, and with the applicable requirements in 10
CFR 71, Subparts A, G, and H, revised September 9, 2015.
E. Routine determination
before each shipment of licensed material shall ensure that the package with
its contents satisfies the applicable requirements of this Article and of the
license. The licensee shall determine that:
1. The package is proper for the contents to
be shipped;
2. The package is in
unimpaired physical condition except for superficial defects such as marks or
dents;
3. Each closure device of
the packaging, including any required gasket, is properly installed and secured
and free of defects;
4. Any system
for containing liquid is adequately sealed and has adequate space or other
specified provision for expansion of the liquid;
5. Any pressure relief device is operable and
set in accordance with written procedures;
6. The package has been loaded and closed in
accordance with written procedures;
7. For fissile material, any moderator or
neutron absorber, if required, is present and in proper condition;
8. Any structural part of the package that
could be used to lift or tie down the package during transport is rendered
inoperable for that purpose, unless it satisfies the design requirements of
10 CFR
71.45;
9. The level of non-fixed (removable)
radioactive contamination on the external surfaces of each package offered for
shipment is as low as reasonably achievable, and within the limits specified in
DOT regulations in
49 CFR
173.443, revised July 11, 2014, incorporated
by reference, available under
R9-7-101,
and containing no future editions or amendments;
10. External radiation levels around the
package and around the vehicle, if applicable, will not exceed the limits
specified in
10 CFR
71.47, at any time during transportation;
and
11. Accessible package surface
temperatures will not exceed the limits specified in
10 CFR
71.43(g), at any time during
transportation.
F.
Fissile material meeting the requirements of at least one of the conditions in
subsections (F)(1) through (F)(6) are exempt from classification as fissile
material and from the fissile material package standards of
10 CFR
71.55 and
71.59,
but are subject to all other requirements of this part, except as noted.
1. Individual package containing 2 grams or
less fissile material.
2.
Individual or bulk packaging containing 15 grams or less of fissile material
provided the package has at least 200 grams of solid nonfissile material for
every gram of fissile material. Lead, beryllium, graphite, and hydrogenous
material enriched in deuterium may be present in the package but must not be
included in determining the required mass for solid nonfissile
material.
3. Low concentrations of
solid fissile material commingled with solid nonfissile material, provided
that:
a. There is at least 2000 grams of solid
nonfissile material for every gram of fissile material;
b. There is no more than 180 grams of fissile
material distributed within 360 kg of contiguous nonfissile material;
and
c. Lead, beryllium, graphite,
and hydrogenous material enriched in deuterium may be present in the package
but must not be included in determining the required mass of solid nonfissile
material.
4. Uranium
enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 1 percent by weight, and with total
plutonium and uranium-233 content of up to 1 percent of the mass of
uranium-235, provided that the mass of any beryllium, graphite, and hydrogenous
material enriched in deuterium constitutes less than 5 percent of the uranium
mass, and that the fissile material is distributed homogeneously and does not
form a lattice arrangement within the package.
5. Liquid solutions of uranyl nitrate
enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 2 percent by mass, with a total
plutonium and ura-nium-233 content not exceeding 0.002 percent of the mass of
uranium, and with a minimum nitrogen to uranium atomic ratio (N/U) of 2. The
material must be contained in at least a DOT Type A package.
6. Packages containing, individually, a total
plutonium mass of not more than 1000 grams, of which not more than 20 percent
by mass may consist of plutonium-239, plutonium-241, or any combination of
these radionuclides.