§71.59. Standards for arrays of fissile material packages. — Inbound Citations

(b) The regulations in part 71 that are not issued under sections 161b, 161i, or 161o for the purposes of section 223 are as follows: §§ 71.0, 71.2, 71.4, 71.6, 71.7, 71.10, 71.31, 71.33, 71.35, 71.37, 71.38, 71.39, 71.40, 71.41, 71.43, 71.45, 71.47, 71.51, 71.55, 71.59, 71.65, 71.71, 71.73, 71.74, 71.75, 71.77, 71.99, and 71.100.

Fissile material meeting the requirements of at least one of the paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section are exempt from classification as fissile material and from the fissile material package standards of §§ 71.55 and 71.59, but are subject to all other requirements of this part, except as noted.

(b) For a fissile material package, the allowable number of packages that may be transported in the same vehicle in accordance with § 71.59; and

(3) Criticality Safety Index (CSI) means the dimensionless number (rounded up to the next tenth) assigned to and placed on the label of a fissile material package, to designate the degree of control of accumulation of packages, overpacks or freight containers containing fissile material during transportation. Determination of the criticality safety index is described in §§ 71.22, 71.23, and 71.59. The criticality safety index for an overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance containing fissile material packages is the arithmetic sum of the criticality safety indices of all the fissile material packages contained within the overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance.

Deuterium means, for the purposes of §§ 71.15 and 71.22, deuterium and any deuterium compounds, including heavy water, in which the ratio of deuterium atoms to hydrogen atoms exceeds 1:5000.

DOT means the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Exclusive use means the sole use by a single consignor of a conveyance for which all initial, intermediate, and final loading and unloading are carried out in accordance with the direction of the consignor or consignee. The consignor and the carrier must ensure that any loading or unloading is performed by personnel having radiological training and resources appropriate for safe handling of the consignment. The consignor must issue specific instructions, in writing, for maintenance of exclusive use shipment controls, and include them with the shipping paper information provided to the carrier by the consignor.

Fissile material means the radionuclides uranium-233, uranium-235, plutonium-239, and plutonium-241, or any combination of these radionuclides. Fissile material means the fissile nuclides themselves, not material containing fissile nuclides. Unirradiated natural uranium and depleted uranium and natural uranium or depleted uranium, that has been irradiated in thermal reactors only, are not included in this definition. Certain exclusions from fissile material controls are provided in § 71.15.

Graphite means, for the purposes of §§ 71.15 and 71.22, graphite with a boron equivalent content less than 5 parts per million and density greater than 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.

Indian tribe means an Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian Tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 5130.

Licensed material means byproduct, source, or special nuclear material received, possessed, used, or transferred under a general or specific license issued by the Commission pursuant to the regulations in this chapter.

Low Specific Activity (LSA) material means radioactive material with limited specific activity which is nonfissile or is excepted under § 71.15, and which satisfies the descriptions and limits set forth in the following section. Shielding materials surrounding the LSA material may not be considered in determining the estimated average specific activity of the package contents. The LSA material must be in one of three groups:

(a) A package for the shipment of plutonium by air subject to § 71.88(a)(4), in addition to satisfying the requirements of §§ 71.41 through 71.63, as applicable, must be designed, constructed, and prepared for shipment so that under the tests specified in—

(1) Section 71.74 (“Accident conditions for air transport of plutonium”)—

(i) The containment vessel would not be ruptured in its post-tested condition, and the package must provide a sufficient degree of containment to restrict accumulated loss of plutonium contents to not more than an A2 quantity in a period of 1 week;

(ii) The external radiation level would not exceed 10 mSv/h (1 rem/h) at a distance of 1 m (40 in) from the surface of the package in its post-tested condition in air; and

(iii) A single package and an array of packages are demonstrated to be subcritical in accordance with this part, except that the damaged condition of the package must be considered to be that which results from the plutonium accident tests in § 71.74, rather than the hypothetical accident tests in § 71.73; and

(2) Section 71.74(c), there would be no detectable leakage of water into the containment vessel of the package.

(3) Criticality Safety Index (CSI) means a number (rounded up to the next tenth) which is used to provide control over the accumulation of packages, overpacks or freight containers containing fissile material. The CSI for a package containing fissile material is determined in accordance with the instructions provided in 10 CFR 71.22, 71.23, and 71.59. The CSI for an overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance containing fissile material packages is the arithmetic sum of the criticality safety indices of all the fissile material packages contained within the overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance.

Design means the description of a special form Class 7 (radioactive) material, a package, packaging, or LSA-III, that enables those items to be fully identified. The description may include specifications, engineering drawings, reports showing compliance with regulatory requirements, and other relevant documentation.

Deuterium means, for the purposes of § 173.453, deuterium and any deuterium compound, including heavy water, in which the ratio of deuterium atoms to hydrogen atoms exceeds 1:5000.

Exclusive use means sole use by a single consignor of a conveyance for which all initial, intermediate, and final loading and unloading and shipment are carried out in accordance with the direction of the consignor or consignee where required by this subchapter. The consignor and the carrier must ensure that any loading or unloading is performed by personnel having radiological training and resources appropriate for safe handling of the consignment. The consignor must provide to the initial carrier specific written instructions for maintenance of exclusive use shipment controls, including the vehicle survey requirement of § 173.443(c) as applicable, and include these instructions with the shipping paper information provided to the carrier by the consignor.

Exemption value means either an exempt material activity concentration or an exempt consignment activity limit listed in the table in § 173.436, or determined according to the procedures described in § 173.433, and used to determine whether a given physically radioactive material is sufficiently radioactive to be subject to the HMR (see definition of radioactive material). An exemption value is different from an exemption, as specified under the definition for special permit in § 171.8 of this subchapter.

Fissile material means plutonium-239, plutonium-241, uranium-233, uranium-235, or any combination of these radionuclides. Fissile material means the fissile nuclides themselves, not material containing fissile nuclides, but does not include: Unirradiated natural uranium or depleted uranium; and natural uranium or depleted uranium that has been irradiated in thermal reactors only. Certain exceptions for fissile materials are provided in § 173.453.

Freight container means a reusable container having a volume of 1.81 cubic meters (64 cubic feet) or more, designed and constructed to permit it being lifted with its contents intact and intended primarily for containment of packages in unit form during transportation. A “small freight container” is one which has an internal volume of not more than 3.0 cubic meters (106 cubic feet). All other freight containers are designated as “large freight containers.”

Graphite means, for the purposes of § 173.453, graphite with a boron equivalent content less than 5 parts per million and density greater than 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter.

Highway route controlled quantity means a quantity within a single package which exceeds:

(3) There would be no leakage of water into the containment system unless, in the evaluation of undamaged packages under § 71.59(a)(1), it has been assumed that moderation is present to such an extent as to cause maximum reactivity consistent with the chemical and physical form of the material; and