Regulatory References
The transport of nuclear substances and radiation devices in Canada is regulated by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) through the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015 (PTNSR) and by Transport Canada through the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR). Both refer to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material.
The newest version of the IAEA’s regulations, Rev. 2, was published in December 2025. In Canada, per the PTNSR, amended versions of the IAEA’s regulations come into force two years after the day on which the amendment is initially published or six months after the day on which the amendment is available in both official languages, whichever is later. So, the current version in force is Rev. 1 from 2018. References and quotations will be from this version. Rev. 2 will come into force December 2027.
Transport regulations must be followed carefully. As there are many details, it is easy to get lost. This post will be general in nature, giving the overall picture. It is intended as a high-level view. Persons need to refer to the regulations that are in force in their jurisdiction when building or implementing transport procedures for a specific application.
For applicable definitions and more information about each type of package, please see our previous blog post, Radioactive Transport Packages: What Goes in Each.
Exempt Materials & Exempt Consignments
Radioactive material can be transported without having to follow the PTNSR if the material’s radioactivity concentration or total activity is below defined levels. In this case, such material can be treated as though it is not radioactive (therefore not a TDG7 shipment). The word exempt is used for this scenario (not to be confused with an excepted package, described later). Table 2 of the IAEA regulations Rev. 1 lists activity concentration limits for exempt material in Bq/g and activity limits for exempt consignments in Bq for individual radionuclides. Paragraph 403 covers radionuclides not listed in Table 2. It and paragraph 407 refer to the values given Table 3 for unknown radionuclides or mixtures, which depend on the type of radiation being emitted.
Basic Radionuclide Value Determination
In order to make several decisions and determinations, you may have to look up or calculate what is known as the “basic radionuclide value”, which will be shortened to “A value” for this post.
Table 2 of the IAEA regulations lists the basic radionuclide values for individual radionuclides. A1 is the value that applies for special form material; A2 is for material that is not special form.[i] Note that the values of Table 2 are given in terabecquerels, which is a million million becquerels, or 1012 becquerels.
If your radioisotope is not listed or you have a mixture of radionuclides, you should consult paragraphs 403 through 407. Paragraph 403 covers radionuclides not listed in Table 2. You may determine the values yourself following the principles in GSR Part 3, which requires multilateral approval, or you may use the more conservative values in Table 3 without obtaining competent authority approval. It also addresses alternative values for radioactive material that is built into instruments or articles. Paragraph 404 explains how to treat shipment of radioactive material that decays to other radioactive material (i.e., decay chains). In some cases, the decay chain is treated as a single radionuclide using the parent’s value, and in others as a mixture. Paragraph 405 gives a formula for calculating the A value when you have a mixture for which you know the activities of all isotopes present. Alternatively, 406 covers what to do when you know the isotopes, but not necessarily the activity for each one. Finally, paragraph 407 refers you to Table 3 for unknown radionuclides or mixtures. The A values in this case are based on the radiation type(s) being emitted.
Decision Time
With all that covered, let’s step through the decision process for selecting a package. There are differing requirements for shipment of different package types, but to stay focused on the selection process, they are not included here.
Large Quantities of LSA & SCO Vs. Everything Else
Paragraph 408 identifies the paragraphs that contain the conditions a material must meet to be classified as LSA. Paragraph 412 does the same for SCO.
If you are shipping large quantities of low specific activity (LSA) material or surface contaminated objects (SCO), you first determine the group of the material. For LSA, refer to paragraph 409 to determine if the material is LSA-I, LSA-II, or LSA-III. For SCO, refer to paragraph 413 to determine if the material is SCO-I, SCO-II, or SCO-III.
If you wish to ship large quantities of unpackaged LSA-I, SCO-I, or SCO-III, you need to meet the requirements of paragraph 520. Otherwise, this material is shipped in an Industrial Package (Type IP-1, Type IP-2, or Type IP-3) as determined by Table 5. To use the table, you must know the LSA/SCO group, whether the consignment is shipped under exclusive use, and the physical form of the material.
Although the A value is used to determine the LSA group, it is not considered when determining the industrial package type. For figuring out what package is required for consignments containing anything except large quantities of LSA or SCO, the A value is crucial.
Over the Radionuclide Value
Once you have your basic radionuclide value for what is going to be shipped, you compare the activity you are putting in the package to that A value. If your total activity is over the A value, it cannot go in a Type A package. It must go in a Type B(U), Type B(M), or Type C package as explained in paragraphs 431 through 433. These packages are required to have certificates of approval that specify what contents they can contain.
If the material is being shipped by ground or water (it is not being shipped by air), it goes in an appropriate Type B(U) or B(M) package. If it is being shipped by air, you can only ship it in a Type B package if the activity is below the upper activity limits for Type B packages being transported by air. If it is low dispersible radioactive material, the limit will be specified in the certificate of approval; otherwise, it is based on the A value. If it is over the relevant limit, it must go in a Type C package to go by air.
Under the Radionuclide Value
If your material has an activity less than or equal to the relevant A value for the isotope, you can put it in a Type A package, as stated in paragraph 429. If you have a mixture of radionuclides and you know what isotopes are present and the activity of each isotope, use the formula in paragraph 430 to determine if the mixture can be shipped in a Type A package.
Because Type A packages have testing requirements and you must follow ALL transport regulations to ship them, it is worth your while to see if you can ship in an excepted package. Excepted packages have more basic shipping document and labelling requirements, are exempt from many sections of the TDGR, and have no containment or shielding integrity test requirements. To determine if you can use an excepted package, refer to paragraph 422. Some conditions for excepted package classification refer to Table 4, which gives the activity limits for excepted packages. These activity limits depend on the physical state of the contents and whether it is an instrument/article or a material. The activity limits for excepted packages are based on the basic radionuclide values, i.e. you need to know the A value and do some math with it.
Paragraph 423 through 427 give the requirements for various types of excepted packages. One thing to note is that paragraph 516 states “the dose rate at any point on the external surface of an excepted package shall not exceed 5 µSv/h.” So, if your consignment can be classified as an excepted package, you would package it and then you must do a survey of the external surface to make sure it does not exceed the surface dose rate. If it does, you must add additional shielding or put it in an appropriate Type A package.
Fissile Material & Uranium Hexafluoride
If you are shipping fissile material or uranium hexafluoride, you must follow additional requirements that are distributed throughout the regulations. They do not have separate package types. Rather, a package intended for fissile material or uranium hexafluoride may be any of the types above, if they also meet additional requirements given for these more hazardous contents.
Putting It Together
At a high level, selecting a package comes down to a few questions asked in order. Is the consignment LSA or SCO? If so, determine its group and ship it in the appropriate industrial package, or unpackaged if it qualifies. If not, find the A value for what you are shipping. If the activity is above the A value, it goes in a Type B package, and if it is being shipped by air above the Type B air limit, a Type C package. If the activity is at or below the A value, a Type A package will do, though it is worth checking whether it qualifies as an excepted package, since those have fewer requirements. Fissile material and uranium hexafluoride have additional requirements for their packaging.
This post covers only the selection of the package. Once you know which package you need, there are various requirements for shipping it, along with further requirements for the conveyance and the consignment itself. For any specific application, work from the regulations that are in force in your jurisdiction.
[i] The IAEA TRANSSC Technical Expert Group on Radiation Protection Working Group on A1 and A2 published Update of the Q system to derive the A1/A2 basic values of the IAEA transport regulations No. SSR-6 Version 1.1a in July 2024. It gives a detailed explanation of the derivation of the A values and how to interpret the footnotes and includes problems in the current Q system (where “Q” stands for “Quantity”). Note that this report informed the value changes made in Rev. 2; the values in force under Rev. 1 remain those in the 2018 edition’s Table 2.
