Shipment of radioactive material

General information

Any transboundary shipment of sealed radioactive substances must be notified to the Central Source Register [Zentrales Quellenregister]. This applies to shipments between Member States of the European Union and shipments between Member States and third countries. Notifications to the Central Source Register must be made in electronic form at edm.gv.at (→ BMK)^{German text} using the forms and input screens provided by the register.

Shipments within the European Community are subject to the provisions of Council Regulation 1493/93/Euratom. This regulation stipulates that the shipper of radioactive materials must ascertain in advance that the recipient has the appropriate authorisation. For this purpose, the "Standard Declaration" form in accordance with Regulation 1493/93/Euratom is used in which the licensing authority responsible for the consignee must enter a corresponding confirmation. The form must be created online in the Central Source Register at edm.gv.at (→ BMK)^{German text} by the registered holders of a radiation protection licence.

Shipments from or to a third country are not subject to the provisions of the European Union. These transboundary shipments are regulated in section 33 of the Allgemeine Strahlenschutzverordnung (Radiation Protection Ordinance – AllgStrSchV). Before shipments of sealed radioactive sources from third countries to Austria, the recipient must obtain confirmation from the competent authority via the Central Source Register that he/she is entitled to receive them on the basis of a corresponding licence or authorisation. For this reason, a form is also available for such shipments in the Central Source Register at edm.gv.at (→ BMK)^{German text}. By using this form, the reporting obligations of section 35 of the AllgStrSchV 2020 are also fulfilled.

Before transferring sealed radioactive sources from Austria to third countries, the holder of the licence, the holder of a type approval or the user of a type-approved device must obtain confirmation from the competent authority in the third country that the recipient is entitled to receive the equipment. This confirmation must be sent to the Central Source Register.

Enterprises affected

Companies that transport radioactive materials from abroad to Austria or from Austria to other countries

Competent authority

Radiation protection licensing authority

Procedure

• Import: The domestic recipient of the radioactive material generates a shipment form online. The competent authority is automatically notified by e-mail upon receipt of the form and sends it back to the consignor with the confirmation. The form is normally valid for one shipment and, under certain conditions, for several shipments within three years.
• Export: The domestic shipper of the radioactive material generates a shipment form online and sends it to the foreign recipient’s authority for confirmation. A shipment may only take place after receipt of the confirmation. The form is valid for one shipment and, under certain conditions, for several shipments within three years.

In the case of shipments within the European Union, the shipper must send a quarterly report to the competent authority in the destination country in accordance with Council Regulation 1493/93/Euratom. The report must be sent no later than the 21^st day of the month following the quarter in question. The report shall contain information on the consignee, the nuclides shipped, the total radioactivity and the highest individual radioactivity per nuclide.

Further information

Central Source Register [Zentrales Quellenregister] (edm.gv.at) (→ BMK)^{German text}

Legal bases

• Council Regulation 1493/93/Euratom
• section 43 paragraph 7 of the Strahlenschutzgesetz
  (Radiation Protection Act^{Unofficial English translation} – StrSchG)
• sections 33, 35 of the Allgemeine Strahlenschutzverordnung
  (General Radiation Protection Ordinance^{Unofficial English translation} – AllgStrSchV)