The Radioactive Material (Road Transport) (Great Britain) Regulations 1996

Regulations 6, 22(3) & 30

SCHEDULE 18 Requirements for marking, labelling and placarding

Marking

1.  Each package of gross mass exceeding 50 kg shall have its permissible gross mass legibly and durably marked on the outside of the packaging.

2.  Each package which conforms to a Type A package design shall be legibly and durably marked on the outside of the packaging with “Type A”.

3.  Each package which conforms to a design approved under regulation 19(3), 20(3) or 21(3) or falling within regulation 23(1), shall be legibly and durably marked on the outside of the packaging with:

(a) the identification mark allocated to that design by the competent authority;

(b) a serial number to uniquely identify each packaging which conforms to that design; and

(c) in the case of a Type B(U) or Type B(M) package design, with “Type B(U)” or “Type B(M)” respectively.

4.  Each package which conforms to a Type B(U) or Type B(M) package design shall have the outside of the outermost receptacle which is resistant to the effects of fire and water plainly marked by embossing, stamping, or other means resistant to the effects of fire and water with the trefoil symbol shown in Fig. 1 in the Appendix below.

Labelling

5.  Each package, overpack, tank and freight container shall bear the labels which conform to the models in Figs. 2, 3 or 4 in the Appendix below, except as allowed under the alternative provision of paragraph 9 below for large freight containers and tanks, according to the appropriate category determined in accordance with Schedule 19. Any labels which do not relate to the contents shall be removed or covered. For radioactive materials having other dangerous properties see paragraph 12 of Schedule 2.

6.  The labels shall be affixed to two opposite sides of the outside of a package or overpack, or on the outside of all four sides of a freight container or tank.

7.  Each label shall be completed with the following information:

(a) Contents:

(i) Except for LSA-I material, the name of the radionuclide as taken from Table I of Schedule 36, using the symbols prescribed therein. For mixtures of radionuclides, the most restrictive nuclides must be listed to the extent the space on the line permits. The group of LSA or SCO shall be shown following the name of the radionuclide. The terms “LSA-II”, “LSA-III”, “SCO-I” and “SCO-II” shall be used for this purpose.

(ii) For LSA-I materials, the term “LSA-I” is all that is necessary; the name of the radionuclide is not necessary.

(b) Activity: The maximum activity of the radioactive contents during transport expressed in units of Bq. For fissile material, the total mass in units of grams (g), or multiples thereof, may be used in place of activity.

(c) For overpacks, tanks, and freight containers, the “contents” and “activity” entries on the label shall bear the information required in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above, respectively, totalled together for the entire contents of the overpack, tank, or freight container except that on labels for overpacks or freight containers containing mixed loads of packages with different radionuclides, such entries may read, “See Transport Documents”.

(d) Transport Index (TI)—see Schedule 17.

(No Transport Index (TI) entry is required for category I-WHITE).

8.—(a) Each package, overpack, tank, freight container or vehicle containing any of the substances mentioned in paragraph 8(a)(iv) and 9(a)(ii) of marginal 2703 of ADR shall bear the additional label prescribed for the substance in those paragraphs.

(b) Each package except tank containers and overpacks shall be clearly and durably marked with the United Nations number assigned to the material as specified in Schedule 37, preceded by the letters “UN”.

Placarding

9.  Large freight containers carrying packages other than excepted packages, and tanks shall bear four placards which conform to the model given in Fig. 5 in the Appendix below. The placards shall be affixed in a vertical orientation to each side wall and each end wall of the freight container or tank. Any placards which do not relate to the contents shall be removed. Instead of using a label and a placard, it is permitted as an alternative to use enlarged labels only, as shown in Figs 2, 3 and 4 in the Appendix below, with dimensions of the minimum size shown in Fig. 5 in the Appendix below.

10.  Where the consignment in the freight container or tank is unpackaged LSA-I or SCO-I or where an exclusive use consignment in a freight container is packaged radioactive material comprised of a single United Nations Number commodity, the appropriate United Nations Number for the consignment (see Schedule 37) shall also be displayed, in black digits not less than 65 mm high, either:

(a) in the lower half of the placard shown in Fig. 5 in the Appendix below, against the white background, or

(b) on the placard shown in Fig. 6 in the Appendix below.

When the alternative given in (b) above is used, the subsidiary placard shall be affixed immediately adjacent to the main placard, on all four sides of the freight container or tank.

11.  Subject to paragraph 16 in the Appendix below, a vehicle carrying a package, overpack, tank or freight container labelled with any of the labels shown in Figs. 2, 3 or 4 in the Appendix below, or carrying a consignment under exclusive use, shall display the placard shown in Fig. 5 on each of the two external lateral walls and the external rear wall of the vehicle. In the case of a vehicle without sides the placards may be affixed directly on the cargo-carrying unit provided that they are readily visible; in the case of a physically large tank or freight container, the placards on the tank or freight container will suffice, but any placards which do not relate to the contents must be removed.

12.  Where the consignment in or on the vehicle is unpackaged LSA-I or SCO-I or where an exclusive use consignment is packaged radioactive material comprised of a single United Nations Number commodity, the appropriate United Nations Number (see Schedule 37) shall also be displayed, in black digits not less than 65 mm high, either:

(a) in the lower half of the placard shown in Fig. 5 in the Appendix below, against the white background, or

(b) on the placard shown in Fig. 6 in the Appendix below. When the alternative given in (b) above is used, the subsidiary placard shall be affixed immediately adjacent to the main placard on the two lateral walls and the end wall of the vehicle.

13.  A vehicle transporting radioactive material shall, in addition to any placard required by paragraphs 8 to 11, bear either:

(a) plates conforming to the requirements of paragraph 14; or

(b) a notice conforming to the requirements of paragraph 15.

14.  For the purposes of paragraph 13(a), the plates to be displayed by a vehicle while it is transporting radioactive material shall conform to the requirements of paragraph (1) of marginal 10500 of ADR.

15.  For the purposes of paragraph 13(b), the notice to be displayed in a vehicle while it is transporting radioactive material shall conform to the following:

(a) It shall be not less than 12 cm square. All lettering on the notice shall be black, bold and legible. All lettering shall also be embossed or stamped. The capital letters in the words “RADIOACTIVE” shall be not less than 12 mm high and all other capital letters shall be not less than 5 mm high.

(b) It shall be fireproof to the extent that the words on the notice shall remain legible after exposure to a fire involving the vehicle.

(c) It shall be securely posted in the vehicle cab in a position where it is plainly visible to the driver, but does not obstruct his view of the road and shall be exhibited only when the vehicle is transporting radioactive material.

(d) It shall be in the form set out below and shall state the name, address and telephone number of the owner or operator of the vehicle. For the purposes of this sub-paragraph and in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring agreement or a hire-purchase agreement, “owner” means the person in possession of the vehicle under that agreement.

FORM OF NOTICE

16.  The provisions of paragraph 11 shall not apply to the transport in a motor car of packages labelled with any of the labels shown in Figs. 2, 3 or 4 in the Appendix below provided that:

(a) No more than 10 such packages are carried in the vehicle at any one time; and

(b) The sum of the Transport Indexes (TI) of the packages carried in the vehicle at any one time does not exceed 3; and

(c) The vehicle bears a placard conforming to the requirements of paragraph 11 except that the minimum dimensions for the placard shall be 150 mm by 150 mm, with symbols of sizes in proportion to those specified in Fig. 5 in the Appendix below.

In this paragraph “motor car” has the meaning given in section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1).

APPENDIX

Figs. 2. - 6.

(1)

1988 c. 52.