Packing and transporting radioactive sources, radioactive waste, nuclear materials source and nuclear materials are conditional business sections. To do business in this field, organizations and individuals must carry out the procedures for granting a license to perform the corresponding radiation works. In order to help customers understand more about the procedure for granting a license to conduct radiation works – packaging, transporting radioactive sources, radioactive waste, nuclear materials source and nuclear materials, Hong Bang Law Firm would like to consult as follows:

Legal basis

• 2008 Law on Atomic Energy dated;
• Decree No. 142/2020/ND-CP dated December 9, 2020 of the Government stipulating the conduct of radiation works and service activities to support the application of atomic energy

Requirements and Conditions

Personnel conditions

• In case of transportation by road or rail (except for the transport of exempted packages): The driver of the means of transport shall obtain a certificate of training in radiation safety or have an escort with the same certificate;
• In case of transporting Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 radioactive sources according to QCVN 06:2010/BKHCN: A person in charge of incident response must be granted a radiation worker certificate.

Safety and security conditions

• Packages must be packed and labeled according to regulations on safe transportation of radioactive sources, radioactive waste, nuclear materials source and nuclear materials;
• Having equipment to measure radiation dose rate to monitor safety during transportation;
• Fully meet the requirements on security assurance as prescribed in Appendix I of Decree No. 142/2020/ND-CP;
• Have a plan to respond to grassroots radiation incidents according to the provisions of Appendix II of Decree No. 142/2020/ND-CP. In case of transporting radioactive sources of Group 1, Group 2 according to QCVN 6:2010/BKHCN, high-level radioactive waste according to the National Standard on Radiation Safety – Management of radioactive waste – Classification of radioactive waste (TCVN 6868:2001): The incident response plan must be approved according to the provisions of Article 36 of this Decree;
• Road transport means and cargo holds transported by rail must have warning labels of radioactive dangerous goods according to regulations when transporting radioactive sources, radioactive wastes, nuclear materials source, and nuclear materials;
• In case of transportation by road: Only cars are allowed and no passengers to be transported (except for exempted parcels).

Note:  In addition to complying with the above conditions, organizations and individuals transporting radioactive sources, radioactive wastes, nuclear materials source and nuclear materials must also comply with the conditions specified in the Decree No. 42/2020/ND-CP dated April 8, 2020 of the Government stipulating the List of dangerous goods, transporting dangerous goods by road motor vehicles and transporting dangerous goods on inland waterways.

Dossiers to be prepared

• Application for a license to conduct radiation work (made according to the form);
• Declaration form of escorting staff (according to the form);
• Declaration of closed radioactive source, open radioactive source, radioactive waste, nuclear material source, nuclear material (according to the form);
• Safety assessment report (according to form)
• Incident response plan: (1) A copy of one of the following documents: Decision on establishment of organization, Certificate of business registration, Certificate of investment registration, Certificate of operation registration on scientific and technological activities, other papers of equivalent value. In case a paper is lost, it must be certified by the agency that it hadd issued or granted such document; (2) A copy of the certificate of radiation worker of the employee: the driver of the transport vehicle or the escort in the case of transport by road or rail (except in the case of exempted parcels) and his/her assistant. responsible for incident response in case of transporting radioactive sources of Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 according to QCVN 06:2010/BKHCN. If this employee does not have a certificate, he/she must submit an application for a radiation worker’s certificate as prescribed in Article 35 of Decree No. 142/2020/ND-CP together with an application for a license to conduct radiation work; (3) A copy of the radiation safety training certificate of the radiation worker; (4) Contract of carriage if the organization or individual sending the goods is not the shipping organization or individual.

Competent state agency

• Ministry of Science and Technology

Procedure

• Step 1: Organizations and individuals submit dossiers of application for a license to conduct radiation work – Packing and transporting radioactive sources, radioactive wastes, nuclear materials source and nuclear materials to the Ministry of Science and Technology .
• Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the application, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall check the completeness and validity of the dossiers and notify in writing the fee for the valid application and other state fees (if any) or notify in writing of the request to amend or supplement the dossier if the dossier is incomplete or invalid.
• Step 3: Within 30 days from the date of receipt of valid dossiers and fees and charges (if any), the Ministry of Science and Technology shall appraise and grant permits to conduct radiation work (packaging, transporting radioactive material, radioactive waste, source nuclear material, nuclear material). In case of refusal to grant a permit, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall reply in writing and clearly state the reason.

Above is our advice on this matter. If you need more detailed advice as well as how to access this service, please contact Lawyer – Mr. Nguyen Duc Trong directly via hotline: 0912.35.65.75, 0912.35.53.53 or call Free Consultancy Center 1900.6575 or send a service request via email: info@hongbanglawfirm.com

We wish you and your family good health, peace and success!

Best regards!

Hong Bang Law Firm.