Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 2002 laid in Parliament

HSE Press Release C037:02 - 21 August 2002

New regulations on the packaging and carriage of radioactive material by rail will come into force on 2 September 2002, the Health & Safety Commission (HSC) announced today.

The Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 2002 (RAMRAIL 2002), which were drafted by HSC, implement European Commission Directive 2001/6/EC. This is the third adaptation of Directive 96/49/EC, which applies RID - the international agreement on transporting dangerous goods by rail - to domestic carriage of dangerous goods within and between EU Member States.

The requirements of RAMRAIL 2002 are based on the radioactive ('class 7') provisions of RID, which in turn are derived from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material, TS-R -1.

Carriage of radioactive materials by rail in Britain is currently governed by the Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail Regulations 1996 (as amended). RAMRAIL 2002 will replace these regulations.

The main changes brought about by the new regulations are:

• revised definitions of 'radioactive material' and other technical terms;
• a new and expanded set of UN numbers (these provide information on the contents of a consignment) allocated to radioactive material;
• revised requirements for labelling and packaging; and
• new provisions on indexing radioactive consignments.

In preparing the regulations, HSC has taken the opportunity to directly reference the RID agreement, which imposes duties to ensure the safe carriage of radioactive material by rail, rather than copy out the requirements of RID into British law.

RAMRAIL 2002 should be superseded in July 2003, when a restructured set of regulations covering all classes of dangerous goods is due to come into force. These regulations will implement the full requirements of the 2001and 2003 texts of both RID and ADR and will also allow the approach of directly referencing the texts in the regulations - a move strongly supported by industry.

The Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 2002 (S.I.2002 No. 2099) can be accessed via the HMSO website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2099/contents/made

Notes to editors

1. HSC published a Consultative Document (CD172), setting out proposals for the Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 200- in September 2001 (see HSC press notice: C038:01 of 18 September 2001). Following consultation and subsequent amendments, the regulations were agreed by HSC on 14 May 2002, and then submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) for Ministers to sign. The regulations were laid before Parliament last week (12 August).

2. Requirements for transporting radioactive materials by road have been implemented by DfT via The Radioactive Material (Road Transport) Regulations (RAMRoad) 2002 (S.I. 2002 No.1093), which came into force on 6 June 2002.

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office