Open Access

Behälter für radioaktive Abfälle sind oft sowohl Transport- als auch Lagerbehälter. Das bedeutet, dass die Herstellungsüberwachung dieser Behälter nach Gefahrgutrecht und nach Atomrecht erfolgen muss. Bei der Neufertigung von Transport- und Lagerbehältern für schwach und mittel radioaktive Abfälle für das Endlager Konrad kann aufgrund ähnlicher Anforderungen an die Fertigungsüberwachung von der vorlaufenden Begutachtung im Gefahrgutrecht Kredit genommen werden und so der Begutachtungsaufwand stark reduziert bzw. Doppelbegutachtung vermieden werden. Der Vortrag stellt den dafür erarbeiteten Prozess mit den Beteiligten BGE (hoheitlich zuständiger Auftraggeber Endlager), BAM 3.3 (hoheitlich zuständig im Gefahrgutrecht) sowie BAM 3.4 und TÜV Rheinland (Sachverständige, beauftragt mit der Fertigungsüberwachung) vor.

The transport of radioactive material is subject to stringent safety requirements defined in the IAEA regulations SSR-6 [1]. These requirements, particularly the thermal and mechanical accident conditions of transport (ACT), are rooted in studies established in the 1960s and have remained largely unchanged, especially regarding thermal boundary conditions. For many decades, the type of propulsion technology used for transporting dangerous goods has remained unchanged. In recent years, however, alternative drive technologies have made their breakthrough and are becoming increasingly established on the market. Since then, the rapid adoption of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles in heavy-duty freight and dangerous goods transport is altering the conditions under which accidents may occur. This raises a central question: Are current regulatory tests, such as the 800°C and 30-minute thermal test, still sufficiently conservative for ACT involving vehicles with alternative propulsion technologies? Battery fires pose specific challenges due to the properties of lithium-ion cells and emerging chemistries such as NMC, LFP, and NCA/LTO. Their highly flammable electrolytes, potential for thermal runaway, release of toxic gases, and long-duration or reigniting fires differ markedly from conventional fuel fires. Such behavior questions whether existing thermal test specifications adequately reflect realistic accident conditions involving electric vehicles. Hydrogen-powered vehicles introduce additional hazards. Accidental releases can form explosive mixtures, and ignitions may produce intense jet fires or explosions with high radiative heat fluxes. Near a package, these events can create thermal loads and transient pressures not fully captured by current regulatory test envelopes. Beyond peak temperatures and exposure time, parameters emphasized in IAEA SSG-26 [2], such as emissivity, absorptivity, heat flux, and fuel energy density, are critical for determining net heat input and require assessment with respect to realistic scenarios. Addressing these gaps requires a research program focused on vehicle fire scenarios and their implications for the safety assessment of packages for radioactive material. This includes developing conservative accident scenarios for various battery chemistries and performing large-scale experiments with calorimetric reference packages and instrumented setups. Notably, there are currently no experimental investigations of accidents involving transport vehicles with alternative propulsion in which the dangerous goods - the package and its loading - have been the central focus rather than the vehicle itself. A necessary research project must aim to assess the relevance of the IAEA's existing transport testing requirements regarding these new risks and, if necessary, propose changes or supplementary measures. Its methods and datasets should also support assessments for other dangerous goods, ensuring that regulatory measures continue to provide robust protection in an evolving transport landscape.

As the energy sector undergoes decarbonization, liquefied hydrogen is becoming increasingly important. In addition to large-scale energy imports, it is also well-suited as a fuel for aircraft and, for example, heavy-duty and long-haul road transport applications. A key challenge is the long-term thermal insulation of LH2, which is achieved through a combination of vacuum and multilayer insulation systems. Despite their proven use, there are still gaps in the knowledge of how such systems behave in accident scenarios - including fires - particularly in road transport. The presentation introduces experimental investigations of realistic fire scenarios for commercial vehicles, analyses heat transfer between the fire and a tank, and derives approaches for defining design fires applicable for the approval of tanks. The results contribute to improving the safety, design, and emergency assessment of cryogenic storage systems.

Metal seals are a major component of radioactive material transport casks. Current legal background and tests programs running at BAM are explained. Results are presented and an outlook is given.

The safety assessment of packages for the transport of radioactive material is a highly regulated and knowledge-intensive process. Regulatory authorities must evaluate complex safety reports that integrate mechanical, thermal, shielding, criticality, and operational analyses, supported by extensive heterogeneous documentation such as drawings, certificates, test results, and inspection records. Although these documents are increasingly available in digital form, they remain largely unstructured and weakly interconnected, requiring manual cross-checking of dependencies and assumptions. This paper explores the potential of AI-driven documentation analysis to support regulatory safety assessments in the context of IAEA-regulated transport of radioactive materials. It examines the limitations of conventional digital approaches and introduces a multi-layered architecture based on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), multimodal document processing, and structured knowledge representations. In particular, the paper argues that standard RAG systems are insufficient to capture the deep interdependencies across safety documentation and proposes the integration of Knowledge Graphs and Graph-RAG techniques to enable traceable, multi-step reasoning. Beyond technical feasibility, the paper emphasizes the importance of human-centered design, explainability, and trustworthiness in safety-critical and regulated domains. Concepts such as Explainable AI and Human-in-the-Loop operation are discussed as essential prerequisites for regulatory acceptance and long-term resilience. Finally, implementation challenges and future developments are outlined, including machine-readable standards and continuous compliance validation. The study demonstrates that AI-supported documentation analysis can significantly enhance efficiency, transparency, and robustness of safety assessments, provided that technical innovation is carefully aligned with regulatory, organizational, and human factors.