| The
Shipping Casks
 A
shipping cask is a cylindrical metal container made of steel and
lead or uranium. Each truck shipping cask weighs 25 tons and rail
casks weigh up to 125 tons. Inside the cask, the fuel consists of
solid uranium stacked like poker chips within metal tubes. A collection
of these tubes is called an assembly. A typical pressurised water
reactor (PWR) uses 60 fuel assemblies or 30 tons of fuel each year.
Each truck cask contains 1 or 2 PWR fuel assemblies. Each rail cask
holds up to 24 fuel assemblies. In terms of radioactivity, each
fuel assembly contains 10 times the long-lived radioactivity released
by the Hiroshima bomb.1
The more severe an accident, the more likely that radioactive material
would be released into the environment. A low speed accident could
unseat a valve or damage a seal, releasing radioactive particulates
into the environment. The same event could crack the brittle metal
tubing around the fuel.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, heavy truck accidents
occur about 6 times each million miles travelled. With thousands
of truck shipments, at least 15 accidents are expected each year.
Shipping containers are designed to withstand a crash into an immovable
object at 30 miles per hour. Obviously Interstate trucks travel
much faster than 30 m.p.h. Impact into a bridge abutment or falls
off a bridge could easily exceed the design limits of the container.
A fire associated with a truck or rail accident increases the probability
that radioactivity will be released. Fires occur in 1.6% of all
truck and 1% of all train accidents. Shipping containers are designed
to withstand a 1/2-hour fire at a temperature of 1475 F. But rail
fires could burn for hours, sometimes for days, at temperatures
considerably higher. Diesel fuel burns at 1850 F. Some materials
burn twice as hot. The heat could vaporise some radioactive materials
and sweep them up into the air. Persons downwind could inhale radioactive
particulates and later develop cancer or genetic effects.
None of
the containers presently used on highways and rail has been physically
tested. These containers were designed and in the 1960’s and
‘70’s. Waste containers have only been tested by computer
or hand calculators.
Transportation
Accidents
Consider the following claim by Pangea: “International transport
of used nuclear fuel has been taking place since the early 1960s
covering more than 15 million miles without any incident involving
escape of radioactivity.” 2
A 1998 study conducted by CH2M Hill, a consultancy firm commissioned
by the Federal Government to prepare a report on the Lucas Heights
reactor EIS, noted:
“Cross-border
shipments of radioactive material are of major concern in North
America, as well as in most Western European countries. In the
United States, the US Department of Energy made more than 14,000
hazardous materials shipments in 1996. Of this number, 242 resulted
in equipment, personnel and/or environmental radioactive materials
contamination. During the period from 1971 through 1996, there
were 2,379 shipping accidents involving type A packages, with
219 of these resulting in release of package contents.”
 The
Pangea video acknowledges hundreds or thousands of kilometres
of truck, ship and train transport would be necessary for each
shipment: the largest mobilisation of nuclear waste in history.
The American Petroleum Institute, contrary to Pangea’s no-risk
assurances, says heavy truck accidents occur about 6 times per
million miles travelled.
‘Routine’
Contamination
In April 1998, the French government announced German CASTOR canisters,
which brought fuel to La Hague to be reprocessed, had emitted
radiation five times above the accepted limit.3
A month later, French officials said contamination from the CASTORs
exceeded radiation limits by up to 3,000 times. The police union,
citing contamination concerns and health fears for officers required
to stand near the casks, called for an end to the shipments.3
Documents leaked in April revealed one third of French transports
between reactors and the Cogema reprocessing plant at La Hague
were contaminated beyond legal levels. These illegal transports
had occurred for some ten years with the collusion of industry
and government officials. Under pressure from unions and the general
public, the French rail company SNCF ordered the transports suspended.
Shipping
Accidents
 Shipping
massive quantities of nuclear waste around the world creates unprecedented
hazards for countries along the transportation routes. The loss
of only a tiny percentage of a single shipment would create massive
and irreversible contamination.
A serious accident involving a ship carrying highly radioactive
nuclear waste through the waters of the Federal States of Micronesia
(FSM) would result in increased cancer risks, require a ban on
the consumption of local food and cause extensive damage to marine
resources.
 The
study, conducted by US based firm Radioactive Waste Management,
considers impact from two types of accident: a ship fire which
damages the casks and a cask lost overboard and buried in the
seabed. In both situations, the report concludes the release of
even a tiny percentage of cargo would result in exposure to dangerous
levels of radioactivity.
It is a conservative estimate modelled on available industry,
US government and inter-governmental agency information. A small
release of the total radioactivity into the environment from a
serious accident would be exposed Pohnpei people to radiation
levels 350 times the nuclear industry’s legal limits. (A
small release would be 0.03% of the cesium inventory and a small
percentage of other radionuclides)
The additional lifetime risk of developing cancer would range
from 1.9 chances in 10 to near certainty. Evacuation of the island
would be required to avoid additional doses of radioactivity as
local food and fisheries would be contaminated.
The report concludes the FSM could be expected to lose more than
half of its total income from exports, tourism and fishing fees
-- all key industries to most countries in the Pacific should
this occur. It calculates, based on Lloyds of London shipping
statistics, there is a 6% probability of an accident leading to
total vessel loss over a period of 30 planned shipments from Europe
to Japan.
The Pangea proposal requires not 30 shipments but thousands
over a 40 year period and the risks inherent in the shipping alone
must disqualify this project from serious consideration.
References
1.NIRS
Radioactive Waste Transportation Factsheet, prepared by Radioactive
Waste Management Associates, New York, 1995
2. Pangea, Promotional Video, 1998 “Leading
a Global Solution” duration 15 minutes, Personal review only;
not for dissemination. Acquired by Friends of the Earth from British
Nuclear Fuels.
3. NIRS Factsheet - Radioactive Waste Transportation,
the German Experience, Michael Mariotte, May 27, 1998.
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