Upgrade of the Transport Monitoring System of Nuclear Materials

In order to transport nuclear materials safely and smoothly, it is important to understand the accurate position of the transport convoy and its environment which includes road and weather conditions on the route. In the case of traffic accidents during transport, it is a common practice to obtain detailed information of the accident site and damage of the transport package as soon as possible, and make quick and adequate emergency response. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has developed a transport monitoring system (TMS), which tracks the movement of transport convoys [1]. The TMS has been used for land transport of MOX fuels since 2005. JAEA solved some problems that were observed during operational experience and upgraded the system with additional features. In the case of emergency during transport, the upgraded TMS can send much more detailed visual information of the accident site to the transport control center (TCC), which is useful for planning and executing an effective response. This paper presents the features of the TMS and the results obtained from operational experiences