• To provide shippers with a single source of information on the Midwestern states to help in planning shipping activities; and • To improve the efficiency of the transportation process for both the Midwestern states and shippers. The Midwestern states first prepared this planning guide in 2002 in response to an increasing frequency of radioactive material shipments through the region and, with it, an increasing array of practices, procedures, and plans requiring the input and involvement of the states. To date, DOE has conducted most of these shipments with varying levels of state involvement. The states appreciate DOE’s efforts to consolidate and better coordinate its radioactive material transportation activities, particularly through the development in 2002 of a comprehensive Radioactive Material Transportation Practices Manual for use across the department. This Midwestern planning guide complements DOE’s activities by providing a single resource of information on the Midwestern states to be used to develop plans for each new shipping campaign. Because of our long-standing working relationship with DOE on radioactive material transportation planning, we expect DOE to conduct its shipments in a manner that meets the guidelines described in this document. We also look to non-DOE shippers of radioactive waste and material to adopt these guidelines and to work cooperatively with the states as partners in transportation planning. The states take different approaches to regulating radioactive material transportation, but they all base their actions on the type of material and the mode of shipment, not on the identity of the shipper or the points of origin and destination of the shipments. A central principle of this planning guide, therefore, is that shipments of similar material should be handled in the same fashion. In other words, shipments of transuranic waste should follow the same policies and procedures, regardless of whether the shipments are headed to DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP) or to an interim facility for treatment, consolidation, or repackaging. Likewise, shipments of spent nuclear fuel should be handled in a similar fashion regardless of whether the destination is a repository, a private interim storage site, or a DOE facility. Federal requirements regarding shipment security were tightened after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For example, due to the concern over the potential use of non-fissile radioactive material in the construction of radiological dispersal devices (RDD), or “dirty bombs,” federal requirements (10 CFR Part 37) were changed to provide enhanced physical protection for Category 1 and Category 2 quantities of radioactive materials. These changes, including background checks for employees, advance notification, and real-time tracking, were codified as regulations in 2013. As co-regulators of transportation, the states are following this same trend toward enhanced security and other protective measures for shipments of HRCQ material. Maintenance Every two years, the CSG Midwest staff will organize an ad hoc working group of Midwestern states to discuss lessons learned from shipping activities during the preceding two years. If necessary, the working group will propose revisions to improve the Midwest’s recommended practices in this planning guide. The Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee will review the recommended changes and revise the planning guide accordingly. In connection with the spring and fall committee meetings, the committee will update the state-specific information contained in the planning guide. Throughout the year, members of the committee will forward updated information to the CSG Midwest staff as it becomes available. The staff will post updated information in the on-line version of the planning guide, which is available at csgmidwest.org/about-us/mrmtp/project-resources.
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