NAC International Obtains NRC Certification for the Volunteer Transport Packaging System in Record Time

Peachtree Corners, GA – NAC International Inc. (NAC) received U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certification for its new high-capacity “Volunteer” transport packaging system in record time for a packaging of this type. The packaging, developed by NAC for the transport of Tritium-Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs), vitrified high-level waste (HLW), and irradiated hardware, is now approved under NRC 10 CFR Part 71 with Certificate of Compliance (CoC) USA/9403/B(U)-96, effective April 30, 2025. With the application being submitted to the NRC in May 2024, the new CoC was approved less than one year after the initial submittal, a record for completing the NRC’s approval process for a Type B packaging of this complexity. 

“The U.S. NRC has frequently emphasized that a high-quality license submittal and timely pre-application meetings are the key to efficient licensing actions,” said Kent Cole, NAC President and CEO. “That has certainly been true for the NAC Volunteer packaging. Pre-application discussions with the NRC review staff helped NAC identify and resolve potential areas of risk early in the development process, avoiding issues that could prolong review of the packaging design. We thank the NRC for their commitment to prompt review and their commitment to meeting a 12-month schedule, as indicated in their acceptance letter for the Volunteer license application dated September 6, 2024.”

The Volunteer provides a safe means of transporting a wide range of non-fissile or fissile-exempt radioactive materials contents. The Volunteer offers long, standard, and short configurations. Each configuration accommodates various contents; TPBAR contents in the standard configuration; vitrified HLW in long, standard, or short length casks; and irradiated hardware in the long or short length casks.

The primary mode of transportation for the Volunteer is by road, although rail or sea transport modes are also allowed. The maximum weight of the contents and internal support structures is 11,500 lbs. for all cask configurations. The maximum gross weight of the package for the long, standard, and short configurations is approximately 84,400 lbs., 80,500 lbs., and 64,8000 lbs., respectively.