4. Transporting uranium hexafluoride

Following discussions and experimental programs carried out after the accident involving the French freighter Mont-Louis in 1984, specific requirements for the design of uranium hexafluoride (UF ₆ ) transport packages were introduced in the 1996 IAEA regulations.

Precise assessment of the consequences of accidents (impact, fire) that could involve one of the packages designed for transporting UF ₆ had led to questions about their integrity in the event of fire; indeed, uranium hexafluoride, which is solid at room temperature, melts when it heats up and generates vapor pressures that could cause the container to burst. For this reason, France has proposed that the IAEA recommendations include fire resistance requirements comparable to those applicable to Type B packages. In...