In 1959, the CETDG recognized the necessity to coordinate with the IAEA in the drafting of any recommendations relating to the transport of radioactive materials for incorporation into the UN Model Regulations. Thus, ECOSOC requested the United Nations Secretary-General to inform the IAEA of ECOSOC’s desire that the IAEA be entrusted with the drafting of recommendations on the transport of radioactive materials, on the understanding that the recommendations would be consistent with the principles adopted by the CETDG and would be formulated in consultation with the United Nations and the relevant specialized agencies. This has led to continuing cooperation between the CETDG, the IAEA, the relevant specialized agencies (particularly ICAO, IMO and the Universal Postal Union) and various other United Nations bodies, including the UN ECE, which oversees the development of two of the mode-specific, regional land-transport regulatory documents.

The IAEA’s founding statute authorizes it to perform certain functions, including in Article III. A.6 ‘to establish or adopt, in consultation and, where appropriate, in collaboration with the competent organs of the United Nations and with the specialized agencies concerned, standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property’. Consequently, the ECOSOC request complemented the IAEA’s statutory functions in the establishment of safety standards (IAEA, 1998).

Following the ECOSOC decision, the IAEA established and first published in 1961 its Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials (identified at that time as Safety Series No. 6), for application to both the national and international carriage of radioactive materials by all modes of transport. Subsequent reviews — conducted by the IAEA’s Secretariat in full consultation with IAEA member states, the relevant specialized agencies and various other United Nations bodies — have resulted in five comprehensively revised versions (published in 1964, 1967, 1973, 1985 and 1996) and several minor revisions. The latest revision was issued in 2009 as IAEA TS-R-1 (IAEA, 2009a). All versions of the Regulations have struck a balance between the need to take account of technical advances, operational experience and the latest radiation protection principles while maintaining a stable framework of regulatory requirements.

In 1964, when approving the first revised version, the IAEA’s Board of Governors authorized the Director General of the IAEA to recommend that the Regulations ‘be taken as a basis for relevant national regulations and be applied to international transport’ (IAEA, 1998). Through the establishment of the international regulatory regime described in Sections 19.2.1 and 19.2.2, the IAEA Regulations (TS-R-1) have now indeed become the basis for national regulations and are applied in international transport.

Worldwide application of the IAEA’s Transport Regulations for all modes of transport has resulted in a high standard of safety, as was recognized in IAEA General Conference Resolution GC(42)/RES/13, which stated that ‘compliance with regulations which take account of the IAEA’s Transport Regulations is providing a high level of safety’ (IAEA, 1998). TS-R-1 is a ‘stand alone’ document that is providing all the requirements for radioactive materials transport safety.