Ask X3What does 49 CFR 173.410 (General design requirements) require?
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As Ask X3, your fleet-compliance assistant, here is what 49 CFR 173.410 requires for each package used to ship Class 7 (radioactive) materials:
* Handling and Securing: The package must be easy to handle and properly secure inside or on a transport conveyance.
* Lifting Attachments: Any lifting attachment that is a structural part of the package must have a minimum safety factor of three against yielding when lifted as intended. Additionally, if an attachment fails under excessive load, it must not impair the package's ability to meet other requirements. Any other structural part that could be used for lifting must either be made inoperable during transport or have strength equivalent to a lifting attachment.
* External Surface: The outside surface must be as free from protruding features as possible and easy to decontaminate.
* Outer Layer: The outer layer must avoid pockets or crevices where water can collect, as far as practicable.
* Added Features: Any added feature must not reduce the package's safety.
* Vibration and Acceleration: The package must withstand normal transport accelerations, vibrations, or vibration resonance without deteriorating its closing devices or overall integrity, and without loosening nuts, bolts, or securing devices (even after repeated use).
* Compatibility: Construction materials, components, and contents must be physically and chemically compatible with one another, taking into account how irradiation affects them.
* Valves: Any valves that could allow package contents to escape must be protected against unauthorized operation.
* Air Transport Requirements (if applicable):
* Accessible surface temperatures cannot exceed 50 °C (122 °F) at a 38 °C (100 °F) ambient temperature (ignoring insulation).
* Containment integrity must not be impaired when exposed to ambient temperatures from −40 °C (−40 °F) to +55 °C (131 °F).
* Packages with liquid contents must withstand an internal pressure differential of at least the maximum normal operating pressure plus 95 kPa (13.8 psi) without leaking.