Safely Transporting Used Nuclear Fuel June 2000 Key Facts Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), the federal government must transport used nuclear fuel from commercial power plants to federally licensed storage and disposal facilities. A safe transportation system is a crucial link between more than 70 nuclear power plant sites nationwide and federal storage and disposal facilities. The nuclear energy industry and others responsible for used nuclear fuel shipments have established an exemplary safety record: more than 10,000 used fuel assemblies have been transported in more than 3,000 used nuclear fuel shipments since 1964. No fatalities, injuries or environmental damage has occurred because of the radioactivity of the cargo. Less than 1 percent of the 100 million packages of hazardous materials shipped each year in the United States are radioactive materials. The number of used fuel shipments could increase to 300 to 500 shipments per year, but high-level radioactive waste will still comprise a small percentage of all hazardous material shipments. Radioactive material shipments include radiopharmaceuticals, radiography devices, smoke detectors, luminous dials and indicators, radioactive waste from research and industrial sources, and new and used fuel for nuclear power plants. Used nuclear fuel shipments travel along Department of Transportation-designated highway routes. States also may designate dedicated routes for transportation of radioactive waste. Under existing law and proposed legislation in Congress, the Department of Energy provides funding from the Nuclear Waste Fund to provide training of state and local officials and tribal emergency rescue workers and to develop emergency response and preparedness plans. The DOE is responsible for transporting, storing and disposing of used nuclear fuel under provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. The shipment of used nuclear fuel and other radioactive materials is strictly regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DOT. These strict controls are one of the reasons that no harmful levels of radioactivity have been released in the eight transportation accidents involving radioactive materials. Shipments of radioactive materials are fully insured under the Price-Anderson Act. Both shippers and transporters are required to carry the maximum insurance available for each shipment, and are responsible for cleanup of materials in the event of an accident. Established Safe Transportation Program for Radioactive Materials The nuclear energy industry has an established, safe transportation program that has shipped radioactive waste since 1964. Of the 100 million packages of hazardous materials shipped each year, radioactive waste accounts for less than 1 percent of the hazardous waste shipped. High-level radioactive waste, including used nuclear fuel, has been shipped from nuclear power plants to facilities that were to reprocess used fuel. But because reprocessing nuclear fuel is uneconomical, the fuel from the West Valley, N.Y., facility has been shipped back to utilities, and used fuel at the Morris, Ill., facility remains in safe storage there. Used fuel from the Three Mile Island plant was shipped to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory during the late 1980s, and a small amount of used fuel has been sent to Department of Energy national laboratories for research and development activities. High-level radioactive waste produced at nuclear power plants, most of it in the form of used nuclear fuel rods, amounts to about 2,000 tons each year. Most of this fuel is stored at nuclear power plants in steel-lined concrete pools or in rugged, air-cooled steel or concrete containers. Since 1964, more than 3,000 shipments of used nuclear fuel have been transported safely along the nation’s highways, waterways and railroads. Used nuclear fuel consists of solid, ceramic material placed end-to-end in zirconium alloy tubes called fuel rods. The tubes are configured into fuel assemblies typically 12 inches square and 12 feet long. After the fuel is used in a reactor, the assemblies are cooled in pools at the plant for several years before being placed in rugged steel containers for shipment. These specially designed containers—certified by the NRC—use heavy metal-walled technology to provide shielding and containment of the used fuel. Using existing container technology, the nuclear energy industry and others responsible for nuclear fuel shipments have established an exemplary safety record. No fatalities, injuries or environmental damage has occurred because of radioactivity of the cargo. Shipments of used nuclear fuel rods were scheduled to increase this year, when the federal government is responsible to begin accepting used fuel from utilities. But the Energy Department has not fulfilled its legal obligation to start moving used fuel by the Jan. 31, 1998, deadline established in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Existing Regulatory Program Ensures Public Safety The regulatory program for shipment of radioactive material ensures public health and safety as well as protection of the environment from dangerous releases of radioactivity. Several federal agencies play a role in the safe transportation of radioactive materials: The Department of Energy is responsible for transporting, storing and disposing of used fuel from nuclear power plants, which generate 20 percent of America’s electricity. The Department of Transportation regulates highway routing, packaging, labeling, shipping papers, personnel training, loading/unloading, handling and storage as well as transportation vehicle requirements. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve shipping container design and manufacturing to ensure the containers maintain their integrity under routine transportation conditions and in the event of severe accidents. The agency also examines shipping routes to ensure the security of fuel shipments. The DOT regulates all shippers and carriers of radioactive materials and requires that they comply with all of the agencies’ regulations. Before radioactive material is transported, DOT requires the shipper to contact the governor of any state through which the cargo will pass. States may take additional public safety actions deemed necessary, such as providing escorts for the shipments. Transportation Department regulations require shippers to use the most direct routes for hazardous material shipments—taking advantage of interstate highways and bypasses that avoid large cities. States also can work with DOT to establish preferred highway routes and time periods for shipments. Eleven states have submitted preferred routes to DOT. The transporter must comply with regulations that may require specific state notification, weight limits and time-of-day restrictions. The NRC establishes safe standards for radiation limits during shipment. Transportation containers are designed to withstand accidents more serious than they will ever likely face—without releasing their contents. Before the NRC certifies a container for transportation of used nuclear fuel, the container must meet rigorous engineering and safety criteria, and pass a sequence of hypothetical accident conditions that create forces greater than containers will experience in actual accidents, including: A 30-foot free fall onto an unyielding surface, which is equivalent to crashing into a concrete bridge abutment at 120 miles per hour. A puncture test, in which the container falls 40 inches onto a steel rod 6 inches in diameter. A 30-minute exposure to a 1,475-degree Fahrenheit fire that engulfs the entire container. Submergence of that same container under 3 feet of water for eight hours. Containers also are subject to separate testing under 50 feet of water for eight hours. According to NRC regulations, the radiation level of containers during shipment cannot exceed 10 millirem per hour at a distance of about six feet from the truck. At this level, a person who spends 15 minutes standing six feet away from the vehicle carrying radioactive materials would receive 2.5 millirem of radiation. By comparison, the average person receives 10 millirem from a dental x-ray and about 300 millirem each year from natural background radiation. Experience has shown that a small number of accidents will happen during transportation, so used fuel containers are engineered to meet high safety standards established by the NRC. Since 1971, just eight accidents occurred involving transportation of used fuel containers, but only four with fuel loaded in the container. As expected from testing on the containers, no radiation was released. The most severe accident occurred in 1971 in Tennessee. A tractor-trailer carrying a 25-ton used fuel shipping container swerved to avoid a head-on collision, went out of control and overturned. The trailer, with the container still attached, broke free of the tractor and skidded into a rain-filled ditch. The container suffered minor damage, but released no radioactive material. Several factors have contributed to this excellent safety record. Among them: Strict requirements on packaging and handling of radioactive materials, which are subject to stringent quality control by the NRC, utilities and transportation companies. An established system for responding to accidents involving radioactive cargo. A voluntary mutual assistance agreement among electric utilities on responding to an accident. Emergency Response Training Provided for State, Local Officials Existing law provides funding from the Nuclear Waste Fund to provide emergency response training for state and local entities in the event of an accident involving radioactive materials. Using this funding, DOE provides assistance for training state, tribal and local leaders in developing emergency response and preparedness plans, and training emergency response professionals in handling accident situations. The agency also operates a Radiological Assistance Program, with eight regional offices staffed with experts available for immediate assistance. If necessary, police will summon those experts to handle the used fuel container and remove any radioactive material that may have been released. The Transportation Department also has a self-contained training course on responding to emergencies involving radioactive materials. In the event of an accident, the carrier has basic responsibility for confining the radioactive materials and for cleanup. State and local government agencies, through their police and fire departments, normally are responsible for protecting citizens and property at the accident scene.