(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide minimum standards and regulations for ensuring the safe shipment and transportation of radioactive materials through the City.
(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) "Curie" means an expression of the quantity of radiation in terms of the number of atoms which disintegrate per second. A curie is that quantity of radioactive materials which decays such that thirty-seven billion atoms disintegrate per second.
(2) "Large quantity radioactive materials" means a quantity the aggregate radioactivity of which exceeds that specified in 10 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 71, entitled "Packaging of Radioactive Material for Transport," Section 71.4(f).
(3) "Millicurie" means one thousandth of a curie.
(4) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle defined as a "motor vehicle" in Section 402.20 of this Traffic Code.
(5) "Person" means any individual, partnership or corporation engaged in the transportation of passengers or property, as a common, contract or private carrier or as a freight forwarder, as those terms are used in the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended.
(6) "Radioactive material" means any material or combination of materials which spontaneously emits ionizing radiation. Materials in which the estimated specific activity is not greater than 0.002 microcuries per gram of material, and in which the radioactivity is essentially uniformly distributed, are not considered to be radioactive materials.
(c) Permit Required. A permit issued by the Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative shall be required for the shipping or transportation of the following radioactive materials by motor vehicle into, within, through or out of the City:
(1) Plutonium isotopes in any quantity and form exceeding two grams or twenty curies, whichever is less;
(2) Uranium enriched in the isotope U-235 exceeding twenty-five atomic percent of the total uranium content in quantities where the U-235 content exceeds one kilogram;
(3) Any element with atomic number eighty-nine or greater, the activity of which exceeds twenty curies;
(4) Spent reactor fuel elements or mixed fission products associated with such fuel elements, the activity of which exceeds twenty curies;
(5) Any quantity, arrangement and packaging combination of fissile material specified by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a "Fissile Class III" shipment in 10 CFR Part 71, entitled "Packaging of Radioactive Material for Transport," Section 71.4(d)(3); or
(6) Any shipment or transportation of radioactive material that is required by the appropriate regulating agency to be accompanied by an escort for safety reasons.
This section shall not apply to radioactive materials shipped or transported by or for the United States government for military or security purposes or which are related to national defense.
(d) Notice. When those radioactive materials requiring a permit as specified in this section are to be shipped or transported into, within, through or out of the City, the shipper, carrier or person otherwise responsible shall first notify the Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative, in written form, two weeks prior to the date of shipment. The form shall include the date of shipment, the type and quantity of radioactive materials involved, the method of transportation, the route, the starting point, the destination and such other information as the Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative may reasonably require. Any information which cannot be supplied two weeks prior to the shipment or transportation shall be supplied promptly by the person responsible for such shipment or transportation when such information becomes available to him or her. Nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the disclosure of any defense information or restricted data as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended.
(e) Issuance of Permit. The Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative shall not issue a permit to any person for the shipment or transportation of those radioactive materials specified in this section, unless both of the following are true:
(1) There is a showing that the radioactive material has been or will be containerized and packaged, and that all warning labels have been affixed to the outer container holding the radioactive material and the motor vehicle transporting such material in conformity with the regulations of the United States Department of Transportation, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or other related Federal or State agencies, regardless of whether the shipment is being made intracity, intrastate or interstate.
(2) There is a showing that the shipment or transportation of radioactive materials is necessitated by urgent public policy or national security interests transcending public safety and health concerns of the City. For the purposes of this section, an "urgent public policy" includes medical and educational interests but does not include interests other than medical and educational interests, unless expressly authorized, in writing, by the United States Department of Transportation or by any other appropriate Federal or State agency which may be required by the Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative. Such authorization shall state that the particular interest involved is, in the opinion of the agency, permitted by Federal or State regulations pertaining to the shipment or transportation of radioactive materials and that the interest involved justifies the apparent risks resulting from such shipment or transportation.
Radioactive materials which are permitted to be shipped or transferred through the City pursuant to this section shall be shipped or transported through the City over such routes, or at such times of the day, consistent with the public health, safety and welfare and the conveniences of the shipper or carrier, as the Director of Public Safety or his or her designated representative may direct.
(f) Penalty. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. Punishment shall be as provided in Section 408.01.
(Ord. 1978-247. Passed 10-4-78; Ord. 99-37. Passed 2-16-99.)