Regulations 2(1) & 25
Solid material representing no less than the entire contents of the package shall be immersed for 7 days in water at ambient temperature. The volume of water to be used in the test shall be sufficient to ensure that at the end of the 7-day test period, the free volume of the unabsorbed and unreacted water remaining shall be at least 10% of the volume of the solid test sample itself. The water shall have an initial pH of 6–8 and a maximum conductivity of 1 mS/m at 20°C. The total activity of the free volume of water shall be measured following the 7-day immersion of the test sample.
1. The tests which shall be performed on specimens that comprise or simulate special form radioactive material are: the impact test, the percussion test, the bending test, and the heat test.
2. A different specimen may be used for each of the tests.
3. After each test specified in paragraphs 4–8 below, a leaching assessment or volumetric leakage test shall be performed on the specimen by a method no less sensitive than the methods given in paragraph 9 below for indispersable solid material and paragraph 10 below for encapsulated material.
4. Impact test: The specimen shall drop onto the target from a height of 9 metres. The target shall be a flat, horizontal surface of such a character that any increase in its resistance to displacement or deformation upon impact by the specimen would not significantly increase the damage to the specimen.
5. The specimen shall be placed on a sheet of lead which is supported by a smooth solid surface and struck by the flat face of a steel billet so as to produce an impact equivalent to that resulting from a free drop of 1.4 kg through 1 metre. The flat face of the billet shall be 25 mm in diameter with the edges rounded off to a radius of (3.0±0.3)mm. The lead, of hardness number 3.5 to 4.5 on the Vickers scale and not more than 25 mm thick, shall cover an area greater than that covered by the specimen. A fresh surface of lead shall be used for each impact. The billet shall strike the specimen so as to cause maximum damage.
6. The test shall apply only to long, slender sources with both a minimum length of 10 cm and a length to minimum width ratio of not less than 10. The specimen shall be rigidly clamped in a horizontal position so that one half of its length protrudes from the face of the clamp. The orientation of the specimen shall be such that the specimen will suffer maximum damage when its free end is struck by the flat face of a steel billet. The billet shall strike the specimen so as to produce an impact equivalent to that resulting from a free vertical drop of 1.4 kg through 1 metre. The flat face of the billet shall be 25 mm in diameter with the edges rounded off to a radius of (3.0±0.3)mm.
7. The specimen shall be heated in air to a temperaturte of 800°C and held at that temperature for a period of 10 minutes and shall then be allowed to cool.
8. Specimens that comprise or simulate radioactive material enclosed in a sealed capsule may be excepted from:
(a)The tests prescribed in paragraphs 4 and 6 provided they are alternatively subjected to the Class 4 impact test prescribed in the ISO classification document; and
(b)The test prescribed in paragraph 7 provided they are alternatively subjected to the Class 6 temperature test specified in the ISO classification document.
9. For specimens which comprise or simulate indispersable solid material, a leaching assessment shall be performed as follows:
(a)The specimen shall be immersed for 7 days in water at ambient temperature. The volume of water to be used in the test shall be sufficient to ensure that at the end of the 7-day test period, the free volume of the unabsorbed and unreacted water remaining shall be at least 10% of the volume of the solid test sample itself. The water shall have an initial pH of 6–8 and a maximum conductivity of 1 mS/m at 20°C.
(b)The water with specimen shall then be heated to a temperature of (50±5)°C and maintained at this temperature for 4 hours.
(c)The activity of the water shall then be determined.
(d)The specimen shall then be stored for at least 7 days in still air of relative humidity not less than 90% at 30°C.
(e)The specimen shall then be immersed in water of the same specification as in (a) above and the water with the specimen heated to (50±5)°C and maintained at this temperature for 4 hours.
(f)The activity of the water shall then be determined.
10. For specimens which comprise or simulate radioactive material enclosed in a sealed capsule, either a leaching assessment or a volumetric leakage assessment shall be performed as follows:
(a)the leaching assessment shall consist of the following steps:
(i)The specimen shall be immersed in water at ambient temperature. The water shall have an initial pH of 6–8 with a maximum conductivity of 1 mS/m at 20°C.
(ii)The water and specimen shall be heated to a temperature of (50±5)°C and maintained at this temperature for 4 hours.
(iii)The activity of the water shall then be determined.
(iv)The specimen shall then be stored for at least 7 days in still air at a temperature not less than 30°C.
(v)The process in (i), (ii) and (iii) shall be repeated.
(b)The alternative volumetric leakage assessment shall comprise any of the tests prescribed in the ISO leak test document which are acceptable to the Secretary of State.
1. All specimens shall be examined before testing in order to identify and record faults or damage including the following:
(a)divergence from the design;
(b)defects in construction;
(c)corrosion or other deterioration; and
(d)distortion of features.
2. The containment system of the package shall be clearly specified.
3. The external features of the specimen shall be clearly identified so that reference may be made simply and clearly to any part of such specimen.
4. After the applicable tests specified in paragraphs 6–20 below:
(a)Faults and damage shall be identified and recorded;
(b)It shall be determined whether the integrity of the containment system and shielding has been retained to the extent required in Schedules 2, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13 for the packaging under test; and
(c)For packages containing fissile material, it shall be determined whether the assumptions made in paragraphs 1 to 6 of Schedule 7 regarding the most reactive configuration and degree of moderation of the fissile contents, of any escaped material, and of one or more packages are valid.
5. The target for the drop tests specified in paragraphs 9, 12(a) and 14 shall be a flat, horizontal surface of such a character that any increase in its resistance to displacement or deformation upon impact by the specimen would not significantly increase the damage to the specimen.
6. The tests are: the water spray test, the free drop test, the stacking test, and the penetration test. Specimens of the package shall be subjected to the free drop test, the stacking test and the penetration test, preceded in each case by the water spray test. One specimen may be used for all the tests, provided that the requirements of paragraph 7 are fulfilled.
7. The time interval between the conclusion of the water spray test and the succeeding test shall be such that the water has soaked in to the maximum extent, without appreciable drying of the exterior of the specimen. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, this interval shall be taken to be two hours if the water spray is applied from four directions simultaneously. No time interval shall elapse, however, if the water spray is applied from each of the four directions consecutively.
8. The specimen shall be subjected to a water spray test that simulates exposure to rainfall of approximately 5 cm per hour for at least one hour.
9. The specimen shall drop on to the target so as to suffer maximum damage in respect of the safety features to be tested and—
(a)The height of drop measured from the lowest point of the specimen to the upper surface of the target shall be not less than the distance specified in Table XIII of Schedule 36 for the applicable mass. The target shall be as defined in paragraph 5 above.
(b)For packages containing fissile material the free drop test specified above shall be preceded by a free drop from a height of 0.3 metres on to each corner or, in the case of a cylindrical package, on to each of the quarters of each rim.
(c)For rectangular fibreboard or wood packages not exceeding a mass of 50 kg, a separate specimen shall be subjected to a free drop on to each corner from a height of 0.3 metres.
(d)For cylindrical fibreboard packages not exceeding a mass of 100 kg, a separate specimen shall be subjected to a free drop on to each of the quarters of each rim from a height of 0.3 metres.
10. Unless the shape of the packaging effectively prevents stacking, the specimen shall be subjected, for a period of 24 hours, to a compressive load equal to the greater of the following:
(a)The equivalent of 5 times the mass of the actual package; and
(b)The equivalent of 13 kPa multiplied by the vertically projected area of the package.
The load shall be applied uniformly to two opposite sides of the specimen, one of which shall be the base on which the package would normally rest.
11. The specimen shall be placed on a rigid, flat, horizontal surface which will not move significantly while the test is carried out.
(a)A bar of 3.2 cm in diameter with a hemispherical end and a mass of 6 kg shall be dropped and directed to fall, with its longitudinal axis vertical, on to the centre of the weakest part of the specimen, so that, if it penetrates sufficiently far, it will hit the containment system. The bar shall not be significantly deformed by the test performance.
(b)The height of drop of the bar measured from its lower end to the intended point of impact on the upper surface of the specimen shall be 1 metre.
12. A specimen or separate specimens shall be subjected to each of the following tests unless it can be demonstrated that one test is more severe for the specimen in question than the other, in which case one specimen shall be subjected to the more severe test:
(a)Free drop test: The specimen shall drop on to the target so as to suffer the maximum damage in respect of containment. The height of the drop measured from the lowest part of the specimen to the upper surface of the target shall be 9 metres. The target shall be as defined in paragraph 5 above.
(b)Penetration test: The specimen shall be subjected to the test specified in paragraph 11 above except that the height of drop shall be increased to 1.7 metres from the 1 metre specified in paragraph 11(b).
13. The specimen shall be subjected to the cumulative effects of the tests specified in paragraphs 14 and 15, in that order. Following these tests, either this specimen or a separate specimen shall be subjected to the effect(s) of the water immersion test(s) as specified in paragraph 16 and, if applicable, paragraph 17.
14. The mechanical test consists of three different drop tests. Each specimen shall be subjected to the applicable drops as specified in paragraph 8 of Schedule 12. The order in which the specimen is subjected to the drops shall be such that, on completion of the mechanical test, the specimen shall have suffered such damage as will lead to the maximum damage in the thermal test which follows.
(a)For drop I, the specimen shall be dropped on to the target so as to suffer the maximum damage, and the height of the drop measured from the lowest point of the specimen to the upper surface of the target shall be 9 metres. The target shall be as defined in paragraph 5 above.
(b)For drop II, the specimen shall be dropped so as to suffer the maximum damage on to a bar rigidly mounted perpendicularly on the target. The height of the drop measured from the intended point of impact of the specimen to the upper surface of the bar shall be 1 metre. The bar shall be of solid mild steel of circular section, (15.0±0.5)cm in diameter, and 20 cm long unless a longer bar would cause greater damage, in which case a bar of sufficient length to cause maximum damage shall be used. The upper end of the bar shall be flat and horizontal with its edges rounded off to a radius of not more than 6 mm. The target on which the bar is mounted shall be as described in paragraph 5.
(c)For drop III, the specimen shall be subjected to a dynamic crush test by positioning the specimen on the target so as to suffer maximum damage by the drop of a 500 kg mass from 9 metres on to the specimen. The mass shall consist of a solid mild steel plate 1 metre×1 metre and shall fall in a horizontal attitude. The height of the drop shall be measured from the underside of the plate to the highest point of the specimen. The target on which the specimen rests shall be as defined in paragraph 5.
15. The thermal test shall consist of the exposure of a specimen fully engulfed, except for a simple support system, in a hydrocarbon fuel/air fire of sufficient extent and in sufficiently quiescent ambient conditions to provide an average emissivity coefficient of at least 0.9, with an average flame temperature of at least 800°C for a period of 30 minutes, or shall be any other thermal test which provides the equivalent total heat input to the package. The fuel source shall extend horizontally at least 1 metre, and shall not extend more than 3 metres, beyond any external surface of the specimen, and the specimen shall be positioned 1 metre above the surface of the fuel source. After the cessation of external heat input, the specimen shall not be cooled artifically and any combustion of materials of the specimen shall be allowed to proceed naturally. For demonstration purposes, the surface absorptivity coefficient shall be either 0.8 or that value which the package may be demonstrated to possess if exposed to the fire specified; and the convective coefficient shall be that value which the designer can justify if the package were exposed to the fire specified. With respect to the initial conditions for the thermal test, the demonstration of compliance shall be based upon the assumption that the package is in equilibrium at an ambient temperature of 38°C. The effects of solar radiation may be neglected prior to and during the tests, but must be taken into account in the subsequent evaluation of the package response.
16. The specimen shall be immersed under a head of water of at least 15 metres for a period of not less than eight hours in the attitude which will lead to maximum damage. For demonstration purposes, an external gauge pressure of at least 150 kPa shall be considered to meet these conditions.
17. The specimen shall be immersed under a head of water of at least 200 metres for a period of not less than one hour. For demonstration purposes, an external gauge pressure of at least 2 MPa shall be considered to meet these conditions.
18. Packages for which water in-leakage or out-leakage to the extent which results in greatest reactivity has been assumed for purposes of assessment under paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 7 shall be excepted from the test specified in paragraph 20.
19. Before the specimen is subjected to the water leakage test specified in paragraph 20, it shall be subjected to the tests in paragraph 14(b), and either paragraph 14(a) or (c) as required by paragraph 8 of Schedule 12, and the test specified in paragraph 15.
20. The specimen shall be immersed under a head of water of at least 0.9 metres for a period of not less than eight hours and in the attitude for which maximum leakage is expected.
Demonstration of compliance with the performance standards in this Schedule shall be accomplished by any of the following methods or by a combination thereof.
1. Performance of tests with specimens simulating as closely as practicable the expected range of radioactive contents, and with the specimen or packaging to be tested prepared as normally presented for transport.
2. Reference to previous satisfactory demonstrations of a sufficiently similar nature.
3. Performance of tests with models of appropriate scale incorporating those features which are significant with respect to the item under investigation when engineering experience has shown results of such tests to be suitable for design purposes. When a scale model is used, the need for adjusting certain test parameters, such as penetrator diameter or compressive load, shall be taken into account.
4. Calculation, or reasoned argument, when the calculation procedures and parameters are agreed by the Secretary of State to be reliable or conservative.