Radioactive Materials Quantities of Concern Transportation Security Rulemaking

Although the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has addressed radioactive source protection and security, the events of September 11, 2001, heightened concerns about the use of risk-significant radioactive materials in a malevolent act. Such an event is of particular concern because of the widespread use of radioactive materials (often contained in sealed sources) in the United States by industrial, medical, and academic institutions. The theft or diversion of such materials, in risk-significant quantities, during transport could lead to their use in a malicious act. Since 2001, the NRC evaluated its regulations, identified areas where security could be improved, and, as an interim solution, issued orders imposing additional security during transport of risk-significant quantities of materials. The NRC has defined these risk-significant materials as Radioactive Materials in Quantities of Concern (RAMQC). The NRC is moving forward with a rulemaking effort to add in-transit security requirements to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) during the transportation of RAMQC. In general, these in-transit security requirements will address areas such as preplanning and coordinating shipments, advance notification of shipments to the NRC and States through which the shipment will pass, control and monitoring of shipments that are underway, trustworthiness and reliability of personnel, information security considerations, and control of mobile or portable devices.