"THE FLYING PIG" : THE INTERNATIONAL HOTLAB WORKING GROUP REQUEST FOR A COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR TRANSPORTING SMALL QUANTITIES OF IRRADIATED MATERIAL

Currently the transportation casks (sometimes called 'pigs') market is optimized for transporting spent fuel (assemblies, rods or segments), MTR fuel (assemblies, plates) and radioisotopes for medical and research purposes. However, in the current hot laboratories landscape, more and more hot lab customers are looking for transports of small amounts of radioactive samples across different hot labs at a price that is competitive and compatible with the requirements and expectations of their clients. This evolution is also a consequence of the increase in waste costs, which leads to a desire to transport smaller amounts of material. Because of the current unavailability of a small and inexpensive transport cask for such activities, the price of these transports often becomes prohibitive and programs are cancelled due to this.