Action
Final rule.
Summary
This final rule amends the Hazardous Materials Regulations pertaining to the transportation of radioactive materials to harmonize them with those of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and, thus, most major nuclear nations of the world. Several substantive changes are made to provide a more uniform degree of safety for various types of shipments, such as requiring offerors and carriers to maintain written radiation protection programs, revisions to the definition and packaging for low specific activity radioactive materials, and requiring use of the International System of Units for the measurement of activity in a package of radioactive material. However, the basic standards for packaging radioactive materials remain unchanged. The intended effect of this rulemaking is to increase the level of safety and facilitate international commerce concerning the transportation of radioactive materials. Elsewhere in todays Federal Register, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published a corresponding final rule to its transportation regulations found in 10 CFR Part 71.