A Comparison of International and Domestic Standards Identifying Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6) Cylinders

There are several standards that specify criteria for identifying uranium hexafluoride (UF6) cylinders. The most common international standard is from the International Organization for Standardization, “Nuclear energy – Packaging uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for transport,” ISO 7195:2005(E) [September 2005]. The most common U.S. standard is from the American National Standards Institute, “American National Standard for Nuclear Materials – Uranium Hexafluoride – Packaging and Transport,” ANSI N 14.1 [February 2001], and is currently under revision. Additionally the International Atomic Energy Agency has requirements listed in “Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material,” IAEA Safety Standards Series No. TS-R-1 (2005). This paper looks at the requirements of each of these standards, and then compares them for deriving a universal standard for identifying uranium hexafluoride cylinders. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) sponsored this work as part of a five-year program to develop a concept for identifying and tracking UF6 cylinders throughout their life cycle.