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Page 57
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by Les Oldridge AIRTE, AMIMI
The carrying of radioactive substances by road ( 1)
FROM time to time in this series I have dealt with the law concerning the transport of goods for which special regulations exist. For example, not so long ago I examined the regulations concerning the transit of animals and meat. On May 31 1971, the Radioactive Substances (Carriage by Road) (Great Britain) Regulations came into force and on December 19 some of the provisions of the Radioactive Substances (Road Transport Workers) (Great Britain) Regulations 1970 became operative while the rest of this Regulation comes into force tomorrow, June 5 1971.
Most of us, particularly anyone old enough to have been involved in Civil Defence training, associate radioactivity with nuclear warfare. The use of radioactive material for industrial, medical, research and other purposes is rapidly increasing, however, and it follows that road transport operators will be called upon to carry these materials more frequently. Until now there has been no control over the movement of radioactive materials and these new regulations are aimed at improving safety for both the general public and the worker involved in the transport of these substances.
Radioactive materials can be dangerous if mishandled, but as with many other hazards there is little risk if the proper precautions are taken. They emit ionizing radiations such as gamma rays, which are similar to X-rays. Limited doses of ionizing radiation are regarded as acceptable but excessive exposure could be harmful. I remember being told at Civil Defence lectures that victims who receive an overdose, and who do not die, become sterile and that their hair falls out, a cheerful prospect. As one would expect the risk is greater if the material actually comes into contact with the skin or is swallowed or inhaled.
Special packages
In transport these materials are sometimes enclosed in special packages consisting of one or more receptacles, absorbent materials, spacing structures, radiation shielding and devices for cooling and for thermal insulation.
For the purpose of the Regulations: what is radioactive material? The answer is found in Regulation 4 which states that subject to certain exceptions, dealt with later, the regulations apply to any radioactive substance whose specific activity exceeds 0.002 microcurie per gramme of substance. This means nothing to the layman and, quite obviously, the haulier will have to be guided by the scientist when deciding whether or not a particular substance falls within the above definition.
Regulation 5 contains some general prohibitions concerning the carriage of radioactive material. It must not be carried on a public service vehicle, tramcar or trolley bus. It must not be carried in any vehicle at the same time as any explosive substance; any highly inflammable or spontaneously combustible materials; organic peroxides or oxidizing substances; nitric acid of more than 70 per cent purity or a mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric acid containing more than 30 per cent nitric acid. These prohibitions do not apply when a specially approved consignment is being carried (more about special approval later) or when the prohibited substances would ordinarily be carried if the vehicle were unladen. Presumably the latter provision means if the prohibited materials actually form part of the vehicle--eg, the acid in the vehicle battery.
Warning label
The same section also states that no person shall wilfully damage or open without reasonable cause any package in the course of carriage; no person must remove without reasonable cause any warning label or sign from any package or vehicle or wilfully deface any such notice.
The haulier is likely to be required to carry radioactive materials in one of five ways:— (a) Unlabelled exempt packages: these are very small quantities of radioactive materials sometimes incorporated in a larger article such as a clock with a luminous dial. This sort of load is not dangerous and no special precautions are required.
(b) White label packages: these are containers containing radioactive material to which is affixed a white label of a form specified in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.
(c) Yellow label packages: these are similar to (b) but with yellow labels described in the 1st Schedule and containing radioactive materials with a higher dose rate of radiation than the white label packages.
(d) Materials of low specific activity: these are either:—
(i) natural uranium ores, natural thorium ores, concentrates of those ores, natural uranium metal in non-friable solid form, natural thorium metal in non-friable solid form, or anything which is radioactive only because it has been contaminated by such ores, concentrates or metals; or— (ii) other material of similarly low radioactivity; and— (a) the material is packed in strong leak-proof packages or is packed in bulk in such a manner that there will be no leakage of radioactive material from the vehicle under normal conditions of transport; and—
(b) the material is carried as a full load consignment.
(e) Specially approved consignment: this means a consignment which has been specially approved by the Secretary of State.
I will return to this subject next week.