Excepted Material
Most of the University’s requirements to transport radioactive materials will be covered by excepted packages
for ordinary form solids and liquids. An approved courier should be used.
Radioactive sources and radioactive waste are treated the same regarding excepted package quantities. If
waste fulfils the requirements for excepted packages it can be transported as such.
An excepted package must not contain radioactivity exceeding activity limits for ordinary form solid or liquid –
see Table 2.
For ‘ordinary form’, this is interpreted as meaning ‘not a radioactive sealed (special form) source’. For special
form solid radioactive materials there are higher limits than those in Table 2 – consult the Radiation Protection
Officer for details.
For instruments containing radioactive materials the individual item limits are ten times the limits in Table 2.
For gases the limits are the same as for solids, with the exception of tritium where there is a higher limit.
Activity limits for excepted packages
Nuclide
Ordinary form solid (GBq)
Ordinary form liquid (GBq)
tritium
40
4
carbon-14
3
0.3
phosphorus-32
0.5
0.05
phosphorus-33
1
0.1
sulphur-35
3
0.3
iodine-125
3
0.3
calcium-45
1
0.1
chromium-51
30
3
cobalt-60
0.4
0.04
nickel-63
30
3
barium-133
3
0.3
americium-241
0.001
0.0001
technecium-99m
4
0.4
caesium-137
600
60
There are specific packaging requirements for an excepted package which must be met.
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Shielding should be provided to ensure that the dose rate at the surface of the excepted package does
not exceed 5μSv/h.
For instruments or manufactured articles containing an excepted quantity of radioactive material the
above dose rate limit does not apply, but the dose rate 10cm from any external point of any unpackaged
instrument or article must not exceed 0.1mSv/h.
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Non-fixed contamination of the external surface of the excepted package must not exceed:4 Bq/cm2 for beta, gamma and low toxicity alpha emitters, e.g. natural uranium and thorium.
0.4Bq/cm2 for all other alpha emitters.
The package must bear the marking radioactive, and/or a radioactivity warning sign (trefoil) on an
internal surface which is clearly visible on opening the package and which warns of the presence of
radioactive material.
The package must be designed to be easily and safely handled and so that it retains its contents under
conditions likely to be encountered in routine transport, e.g. to take into account acceleration, vibration
and braking. The package should include absorbent material particularly if liquids are being transported,
there should be at least twice the amount of absorbent material compared with liquid sample as a
contingency for breakage.
Additional labelling requirements might be required by the relevant Transport Regulations for Dangerous
Goods, i.e. The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP3 ).
Type A package
If the criteria for exempt or excepted radioactive material cannot be met then the material must be transported
in a Type A package. In which circumstance the University Radiation Protection Officer must be consulted.