Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Quality assurance

19.—(1) Insofar as they are matters within his control, it shall be the duty of –

(a) the designer, manufacturer and consignor of a package, packaging or relevant material, as the case may be;

(b) the operator of a wagon, a container, a tank container, a tank wagon or a portable tank which is used for the carriage of a package, packaging or relevant material;

(c) a train operator on whose train is carried a package, packaging or relevant material;

(d) an infrastructure controller on whose railway is carried a package, packaging or relevant material,

to comply with the requirements contained in paragraph (2).

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1) are to establish and maintain an adequate quality assurance programme in order to ensure that the provisions of these Regulations and RID relating to the design, manufacture, testing, documentation, use, maintenance, inspection and carriage of packages, packagings and relevant material are complied with.

(3) Where the Secretary of State is required to approve –

(a) the design of a package;

(b) the design for relevant material; or

(c) a shipment,

under these Regulations, the Secretary of State shall not give his approval unless he is satisfied that the quality assurance programme for the design or the shipment is adequate.

(4) In relation to an approved package, and insofar as they are matters within his control, it shall be the duty of a person referred to in paragraph (1), when so requested to do so by the Secretary of State –

(a) to provide the Secretary of State with facilities to inspect the packaging during its construction and use;

(b) to demonstrate to the Secretary of State that the construction methods and materials used for the construction of the packaging are in accordance with the approved design specifications;

(c) to demonstrate to the Secretary of State that all packagings and special form radioactive material built to an approved design are –

(i) periodically inspected; and

(ii) when necessary, repaired and maintained in good condition,

so that they continue to comply with all the requirements of these Regulations and RID, even after repeated use; and

(d) where a design specification has been fully implemented, to produce to the Secretary of State a certificate to that effect.

(5) In this regulation –

(a) “approved package” means a package the design of which must be approved in accordance with these Regulations and RID; and

(b) “relevant material” means special form radioactive material or low dispersible radioactive material.