LICENSING
Licensing nuclear packages
The unique heritage that INS draws upon extends to its understanding of domestic and international nuclear transport regulations and licensing.
Over 40 years of liaising with domestic and overseas Competent Authorities.
Not only have we worked within an increasingly mature regulatory framework for more than 40 years but, through the UK regulator and our leading role in the World Nuclear Transport Institute , we contribute our experience to the formation and maintenance of the international nuclear transport guidelines as they evolve at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
This background allows us to provide our customers with a valuable insight into transport regulations in a way that guarantees compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the IAEA guidelines. Importantly, our knowledge also brings with it the ability to improve efficiencies to capture the importance of ensuring value for money.
INS can license your nuclear packages
INS will work with you to build a picture of your nuclear transport needs and advise you on how to ensure compliance.
Our experts’ contribution to the ongoing revision and improvement of IAEA nuclear transport regulations affords INS the opportunity to apply that insight for our customers’ benefit.
INS can use its experience of working with customers, competent authorities and stakeholders to improve the efficiency of your nuclear transport and ensure its compliance.
Proven track record of manufacturing and testing to IAEA standards.
Contact Us
To discuss your nuclear licensing requirements please contact us.
Case Study
Special Arrangement Application
We use our vast experience of working with customers, competent authorities and stakeholders to improve the efficiency of nuclear transports and ensure they are compliant with regulations.
We recently made a successful application to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the safety regulator for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, for a “Special Arrangement Approval” to transport a package that had not been conclusively proven to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) thermal test.
As the linked presentation shows, we developed a process to provide demonstrable evidence to the UK Competent Authority that suitable levels of special precautionary, special administrative and operational control measures would be in place during each mode and intermodal stages of a transport.
1648C FEA Model Impact Validation & Verification
We recently completed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) work to support a new licence to transport the 1648C transport package. The project was for a one-off transport project, but would be the first time the package had to be licensed as a Type A(F).
This involved validating an FE model of the 1648A against an old “drop test”, then verifying that the modelling technique was suitable for the 1648C. This supported the Package Design Safety Report and subsequently helped with the award of the licence to transport from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the safety regulator for the civil nuclear industry in the UK.
The project was recognised as a great achievement at UK government level. The verification of the 1648C package allows for further assessments and more detailed analysis to substantiate its ongoing use for the transport of radioactive materials.
Click to view 1648C FEA Model Impact Validation & Verification factsheet >>>
Fissile exceptions – improving nuclear waste transport efficiency
INS has been instrumental in encouraging the adaptation of existing IAEA regulations to better support the bulk transport of nuclear materials with a small fissile content – with potential savings that could run into the millions across the nuclear industry.
IAEA regulations for packaging and transporting fissile material, unirradiated fuels and separated materials has historically been focused on movements associated with the front end of the fuel cycle, not decommissioning. When translated to often far bulkier decommissioning wastes, containing a relatively small ratio of fissile content, the result was a hugely inefficient system where bulk materials had to be either substantially reworked to pinpoint the fissile contamination, or had to be split into very small quantities that required a great number of transports. INS’s licensing experts, who contribute to the IAEA transport safety regulations, played an active role in agreeing new decommissioning-focused regulations that allow for fissile exceptions when the material is contained amid bulk wastes. This has allowed decommissioning wastes, now and in the future, to be packaged and transported in far larger volumes, saving massive amounts of money in packing and processing costs over the previous system.
