Public information for incidents involving the transport of radioactive material

The use of radioactive material is an important part of modern life and technology. Radioactive material is used extensively in medicine, industry, agriculture, research, consumer products and electrical power generation. Hundreds of thousands of packages containing radioactive material are consigned for transport each year in the UK.

In order to ensure the safety of people, property and the environment, national and international transport regulations have been developed for hazardous goods. They are used to control the transport of radioactive material. Stringent measures are required in these regulations to ensure adequate safety arrangements.

In the UK, emergency arrangements are required for the unlikely event of an incident involving the transport of radioactive materials. RADSAFE has established response arrangements to deal with incidents involving its member organisations packages which are transported under the RADSAFE scheme. In certain circumstances the emergency services may also request the general public to take additional actions.

As part of its responsibility under UK transport regulations RADSAFE also provides publically available information on the basic facts about radiation. Information on the possible radiation hazards for the general public in the event of an incident involving the transport of radioactive materials is also provided.