Shipment by Air (10 CFR 73.26)

TM 55-315

of the vehicle, awake, and not in a sleeper berth. The shipment shall be further protected by one of the following

methods:

(1) An armed escort, consisting of at least two guards, shall accompany the shipment in a separate escort

vehicle. Escorts shall maintain constant surveillance for conditions or situations that might threaten the security of the

shipment and take such action as circumstances might require. Escort vehicles shall be equipped also with a

radiotelephone. The licensee may use his employees as armed escorts or he may use an agent. Only the driver is

required in the vehicle containing special nuclear material if shipments involve an average of less than an hour in

transport, if communication is maintained during the shipment with the licensee or agent monitoring the shipment.

(2) The shipment shall be made in a specially designed truck or trailer, which reduces the vulnerability to

diversion. Design features of the truck or trailer shall permit immobilization of the van and provide barriers or deterents

to physical penetration of the cargo compartment unless armed guards are also used, in which case immobilization of the

vehicle is not required.

d. Transfers to and from other transport modes shall be according to 10 CFR 73.25 and paragraph 8-8.

e. Vehicles shall be marked on top with identifying letters or numbers, which will permit identification of the vehicle

from the air during daylight, in clear weather, at 1,000 feet above ground level. The same code of letters and numbers

used on the top shall be marked also on the sides and rear of the vehicle, to permit identification from the ground.

8-5. Shipment by Air (10 CFR 73.26)

a. Except as specifically approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, no shipment shall be made in passenger

aircraft of special nuclear material in excess of:

(1) 20 grams or 20 curies, whichever is less, of plutonium or uranium-233, or

(2) 350 grams of uranium-235 (contained in uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope).

b. In shipments on cargo aircraft of uranium-235 (contained in uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235

isotope), uranium-233, or plutonium, or any combination of these materials which is 5,000 grams or. more computed by

the following formula: grams = (grams contained U-235) + 2.5 (grams U-233 + grams plutonium), transfers shall be

minimized and according to 10 CFR 73. 25 and paragraph 8-8.

c. Export shipments shall be escorted by an unarmed authorized person, who may be a crew member, from the last

terminal in the United States until the shipment is unloaded at a foreign terminal. The escort shall perform monitoring

duties at foreign terminals as described in 10 CFR 73. 25 and paragraph 8-8.

8-6. Shipment by Rail (10 CFR 73.26)

a. A rail shipment shall be escorted by two guards, in the shipment car or in an escort car of the train, who shall keep

the shipment cars under observation and who shall detrain at stops, when practicable and time permits, to guard the

shipment cars and to check car or container locks and seals. Radiotelephone communication shall be maintained with a

licensee or his agent to relay position every 2 hours or less and at scheduled stops, if radiotelephone coverage was not

available in the last 5 hours before the stop. The licensee or agent with whom communications shall be maintained for

different segments of the shipment shall be predesignated before a shipment. If no call is received according to these

requirements, the licensee or his agency shall immediately notify an appropriate law enforcement authority and the

appropriate Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspection and Enforcement Regional Office listed in table 6-1.

b. Transfers shall be according to 10 CFR 73.25 and paragraph 8-8.

8-7. Shipment by Sea (10 CFR 73.26)

a. Shipments shall be made on vessels making the least number of port calls. Transfer to and from other transport

modes shall be according to 10 CFR 73. 25 and paragraph 8-8. There shall be no scheduled transfers to other ships

unless permission to do so has been granted by the Secretary of the Navy or his authorized representatives. At domestic

ports of call where other cargo is transferred, the shipments shall be protected according to 10 CFR 73.25.

b. The shipment shall be placed in a secure compartment, locked, and sealed. Locks and seals shall be inspected

periodically in transit, if accessible, by an escort or crew member.

c. Export shipments shall be escorted by an unarmed authorized person, who shall be furnished by the shipper, from

the last port in the United States until the shipment is unloaded at a foreign port. The escort shall perform monitoring

duties at foreign ports as described in 10 CFR 73. 25 and paragraph 8-8.

d. Ship-to-shore communications shall be available, and a ship-to-shore contact shall be made every 24 hours to

relay position and shipment status, which

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