European Association Competent Authorities

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EACA and Objectives

In 2008, UK and France decided to share the benefits of the experience gained with their bilateral agreements by the creation of an Association which is open to all other European Competent
Authorities / transport safety regulators for radioactive material ; and so the European Association of Competent Authorities was created. Membership is voluntary and non-legally binding and is open to all European countries. The vision of the Association is : The coordinated approach of the Association will develop a common or harmonised approach for the interpretation of the regulations for the transport
of radioactive material in Europe. This will provide a proactive means of maintaining and developing a consistent high level of safety for the transport of radioactive material in Europe.

EURACA

The objectives are:

- Develop networking between Competent Authorities for transport safety
- Share knowledge and relevant good practices and, potentially, resources
- Identify need and participate in joint working groups with defined outputs
- Develop common understanding and promote more effective interaction between competent authorities at a working level.

Membership to the Association is restricted to competent authorities and transport safety regulators
and no industry or industry associations are given observer status – this to promote open discussion between the members in a confidential atmosphere.

EURACA

The European Association of Competent Authorities (EACA)

The European Association of Competent Authorities currently consists of 22 European countries that have participated and contributed to the meetings and work programme of the Association since its formation in 2008. Additional members are foreseen early next year.

EURACA

The European Association of Competent Authorities (EACA)

The Association is an example of the transport safety regulatory community collaborating and working more closely together on the practicalities of regulatory oversight. This is particularly important for transport as often the transport of radioactive goods is a global process that can involve several countries. The transport of radioactive material has an enviable safety record. The Association is an example that the regulatory community is continuing to develop its ways of working to ensure that safety remains the number one priority and the public have a basis to accept the societal need for the transports of radioactive material to continue.

EURACA

1/01/2015
New Modal Regulation 2015 (ADR, RID & ADN)

The transport by sea of radioactive material should comply with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, published by the International Maritime Oranization (IMO)

The transport by inland waterways of radioactive material should comply with the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN)

The transport by air of radioactive material should comply with the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

The transport by rail of radioactive material should comply with the Regulations concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by rail (RID), appearing as Appendix C to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF)

The transport by road of radioactive material should comply with the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR)

The IAEA Transport Regulations, which are adopted into the UN Model Regulations, which in turn are adopted in the ADR and RID Agreements for road and rail transports and the IMDG Code and ICAO Technical Instructions for sea and air modes, were first published in 1961. Since that time the IAEA has revised their requirements several times to reflect experience and the latest advances in knowledge and technology; the latest revision was published in 2014.

The transport of nuclear material has been successfully and safety undertaken for over 50 years without serious incident yet the transport of nuclear material continues to attract public attention, though it can be said often the public attention is not for reasons of public concern about the safety of transport.

Putting the transport of nuclear material into context, each year in the European Union approximately 3 million packages containing radioactive material are transported by road, rail, sea and air with only approximately 5% related to the nuclear sector. Radioactive material is used in many products and industrial products and of course in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, consequently a high proportion of packages transported relate to the industrial testing sectors principally by road and the radiopharmaceutical sector by road/air/road which need reliable and fast delivery routes due to the short half-life of the isotopes involved.

Compliance with transport regulations is the single most important factor that affects transport safety. The introduction of more regulatory requirements, particularly variations in requirements in the countries involved in the transport route, does not automatically improve safety; it can sometimes have the opposite effect by making the transport regulations too complex and inconsistent.

Over the last decade became increasingly apparent to many involved in the regulatory oversight of the transport of radioactive material, that closer collaboration between competent authorities would provide a more effective basis to harmonise the interpretation of transport regulatory requirements between States who operate under the ADR and RID European Agreements and to share relevant and good practice between the transport regulatory authorities.

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