Archived Web Page: Draft Regulatory Document RD-364Joint Canada - United States Guide for Approval of Type B(U) and Fissile Material Transportation Packages

GLOSSARY

ALARA - Acronym for “As Low As Reasonably Achievable”

ANS - American Nuclear Society

ANSI - American National Standards Institute

ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers

BWR - Boiling Water Reactor

Bq - Becquerel

Buckling - In engineering, a failure mode characterized by a sudden failure of a structural member (for example, a containment shell) that is subjected to high compressive stresses, where the actual compressive stresses at failure are smaller that the ultimate compressive stresses that the material is capable of withstanding. This mode of failure is also described as failure due to elastic instability.

Burnup - The induced nuclear transformation of atoms during reactor operation.

CFR - U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

Ci - Curie

CNSC - Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Crud - A colloquial term for corrosion and wear products (for example, rust particles) that become radioactive (i.e. activated) when exposed to radiation. Because the activated deposits were first discovered at Chalk River, Canada, “crud” has been used as an acronym for Chalk River Unidentified Deposits.

CSA - Canadian Standards Association

Criticality Safety Index (CSI) - A number assigned to a package, overpack, or freight container containing fissile material that provides control over the accumulation of packages, overpacks or freight containers containing fissile material.

DOT - U.S. Department of Transportation

Fissile material - Uranium-233, uranium-235, plutonium-239, plutonium-241, or any combination of these radionuclides, with the exception of:

• natural uranium or depleted uranium that is not irradiated, and
• natural uranium or depleted uranium that has been irradiated in thermal reactors only.

GWD - Gigawatt-days

H/X - Hydrogen to fissile atomic ratio

HAC - Hypothetical Accident Conditions

IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency

ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization

ISO - International Organization for Standardization

k_eff - Effective neutron multiplication factor

kPa - Kilopascals

LDM - Low dispersible material

MeV - Megaelectronvolts

Monte Carlo analysis - A method that uses computational algorithms for simulating the behaviour of various physical and mathematical systems by the use of random numbers.

mrem - Millirem

MTU - Metric tonne of uranium

NQA-1 - ANSI/ASME "Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Nuclear Power Facilities", 1983 Edition.

NRC - U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Point-kernel technique  - A technique based on an analytic point source solution where the unattenuated flux at any distance r from the source point is proportional to the source rate divided by 4pir^2. Attenuations are treated in an approximate manner through the use of built-in attenuation coefficients and build-up factors.

Poisson’s ratio  - The ratio of lateral strain to longitudinal strain, within the elastic range, for axially-loaded specimens. Values of Poisson's ratio are required for structural analysis.

psi - Pounds per square inch

PTNS - Canadian Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, SOR/2008-208

PWR - Pressurized Water Reactor

Pyrophoricity - The property of a material or substance that ignites spontaneously when exposed to air or when rubbed or struck.

QA - Quality Assurance

SI - International System of Units

Slapdown - The secondary impact resulting from the package initially impacting on a corner or an edge.

Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) - Nuclear reactor fuel that has been irradiated to the extent that it can no longer effectively sustain a chain reaction because its fissionable isotopes have been partially consumed and fission-product poisons have accumulated in it.

Sv - Seivert

TBq - Terabecquerel

TS-R-1 - International Atomic Energy Agency, Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, 1996 Edition.