Going the Distance? The Safe Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in the United States (2006) / Chapter Skim
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4 Transport of Research Reactor Spent Fuel to Interim Storage
4 Transport of Research Reactor Spent Fuel to Interim Storage
Pages 183-211
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From page 183... ...
These transportation programs have at times been controversial and have led to conflicts between DOE and state governments, and DOE has been compelled to revise and improve its practices regarding evaluation, planning, and consultation with states and tribes. This chapter responds to the U.S.
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From page 184... ...
The final section presents the committee's findings and recommendations. 4.1 DOE MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH REACTOR SPENT FUEL DOE has responsibilities for managing spent nuclear fuel from three categories of research reactors (Table 4.1)
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From page 185... ...
. DOE provides interim storage for the spent nuclear fuel it receives from these reactors and is responsible for preparing that fuel for eventual shipment to a federal repository for disposal.
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From page 186... ...
of casks 40 30 20 10 0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 3 41 21 13 13 0 2 DOE Year FIGURE 4.2 Numbers of research reactor spent fuel casks shipped domestically, 19962004. NOTE: SNF = spent nuclear fuel.
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From page 187... ...
. Foreign research reactor spent fuel to be stored at Idaho National Laboratory is transported from Savannah River to Idaho National Laboratory (12 packages during 19962004, all by truck)
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From page 188... ...
. DOE, employing commercial carriers, is directly responsible for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel from its own research reactors and for transportation from Savannah River to Idaho National Laboratory.
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To justify its activities, DOE had relied on earlier EISs (USNRC, 1977; DOE, 1980) and other evaluations that had concluded that transportation of spent nuclear fuel is generically a safe activity with negligible environmental impacts.
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From page 190... ...
This shipment was made following discussions between DOE and the affected states and tribes concerning routes and other procedures and after extensive preparation of emergency responders along the route. Since 1998, all shipments of research reactor spent fuel from East Asia have arrived at Charleston Naval Weapons Station.
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From page 191... ...
Highway Routes ID INL WY Des Moines Davenpor t NE Omaha Peoria Ogden Lincoln IA Ft Collins Champaign IL Denver Topeka IN UT CO Kansas City St. Louis KY KS MO NC TN Nashville SC Chattanooga SRS Atlanta Augusta GA AL Blue Highway Route Red Highway Route Black Highway Route FIGURE 4.4 Highway routes for transportation of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel from the Savannah River Site to Idaho National Laboratory.
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From page 192... ...
As the description of DOE route selection practices below indicates, DOE generally has not based route selection on quantitative comparisons of risks of alternative routes, but rather on application of the routing rules contained in DOT regulations, taking into account advice from states and tribes along potential routes. 4.2 REGULATIONS GOVERNING SELECTION OF ROUTES FOR SHIPPING SPENT FUEL DOT and USNRC regulations that affect the selection of routes for domestic shipments of spent nuclear fuel are described briefly in Section 1.2.3.
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From page 193... ...
As the following section on DOE's practices for shipping research reactor spent fuel describes, the absence of regulation has not meant in practice that railroads have selected routes for these shipments without government oversight. Historically, DOE has specified rail routes in its contracts with the 3The regulation states: "Except as provided in paragraph (b)
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From page 194... ...
require that any licensee shipping spent nuclear fuel exceeding a threshold quantity obtain the USNRC's approval of shipment routes. Normally, the transportation services contractor arranging a spent fuel shipment submits the planned route for USNRC review.
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From page 195... ...
The steps that were followed by DOE to select routes for shipment of foreign research reactor spent fuel are the same steps that DOE expects to follow in its program to ship commercial spent nuclear fuel to a federal repository: first, development of a plan for the program that identifies sets of potential or candidate routes and, then, selection of a specific route at the time of each shipment, with each step guided by, among other considerations, an assessment of the risks of the favored routes versus alternative routes and modes. These steps are dictated by DOE's general policies regarding transportation of spent nuclear fuel (DOE, 2002b)
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From page 196... ...
· Preferred and alternate rail routes and one highway route from Charleston Naval Weapons Station to Savannah River published in the DOE transportation plan for foreign research reactor spent fuel shipments between these points (Figure 4.5) (DOE, 2003b, Appendix 8.1)
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From page 197... ...
FIGURE 4.5 Highway and rail routes in South Carolina for transportation of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel from Charleston Naval Weapons Station to the Savannah River Site. SOURCE: Modified from DOE (2003b)
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. ing Group, dealing with shipments from Savannah River-to-Idaho National Laboratory, and the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Working Group, dealing with shipments from Charleston to Savannah River.
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RADTRAN was used to estimate the expected fatalities for the entire foreign research reactor shipping program, based on the quantities of materials and numbers of shipments projected in the EIS, for a scenario in which all shipments are transported by truck and with fuel destined for Idaho National Laboratory or Savannah River according to fuel type (DOE, 1996a, Tables E-14 and E-17)
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. The Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Working Group addressed plans for transportation from Charleston to Savannah River and involved South Carolina officials from health, law enforcement, and emergency response agencies.
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For example, South Carolina recommended an improved access route from Savannah River to the Interstate System. The states also favored routes that had been used earlier for radioactive waste shipments, because emergency responders along these routes had already received training.
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rail routes to be used · Definitions of the responsibilities of all federal and state agencies involved and of commercial carriers · S p e c i f i c a t i o n of advance notification and shipment tracking practices · Specification of additional safety practices, including state-by-state vehicle inspection procedures and use of dedicated trains for rail shipments · A public communications plan · An emergency response plan that specifies the responsibilities of the parties in the event of an incident during transport · In the plan for shipments from Savannah River to Idaho National Laboratory, a list of special events and of urban areas with rush hours that the states and tribes asked DOE to avoid in scheduling shipments; DOE agreed to minimize conflicts and to notify the state if a conflict were to arise
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From page 203... ...
DOE officials reported to the committee that in selection of routes for specific shipments, the following factors are considered: · DOT highway route selection regulations · State and tribal advice regarding -- Road conditions and construction zones -- Planned events (e.g., sporting events or festivals) -- Emergency response and radiological training needs -- Shipment and truck inspection requirements -- Rush hour periods through cities · RADTRAN accident analysis · Shipment schedule, particularly the season of the year 5DOE (1996b)
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From page 204... ...
4.3.3 Consideration of Risk Factors: Foreign Research Reactor Spent Fuel The study charge asks how route selection takes into account proximity to populations, traffic and accident data, road conditions, emergency response capabilities, and proximity to gatherings. These characteristics of individual trips all affect risk.
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From page 205... ...
Thus, for example, while a single shipment of foreign research reactor spent fuel across Missouri in 2001 led to a federal-state confrontation, the University of Missouri research reactor has shipped spent fuel to Savannah River several times a year for many years without comparable notice. A university that plans to ship spent fuel from a research reactor that it operates will usually contract with a transportation services firm to arrange all aspects of the shipment.
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From page 206... ...
Transportation plans have been prepared for these shipments following a format similar to that of the foreign research reactor spent fuel transportation plans. The plans were submitted to the states for comment.
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From page 207... ...
This could favor the selection of routes through more densely populated areas if emergency responders there have higher levels of training. As a final example, complying with schedule restrictions on shipments
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selects potential routes for the shipment of spent nuclear fuel from
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(2) selects such a route for a specific shipment of such spent nuclear fuel.
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(3) conducts assessments of the risks associated with shipments of such spent nuclear fuel along such a route.
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From page 211... ...
The committee's analysis of DOE's consideration of the listed factors in route selection appears in Section 4.3. FINDING: Highway routes for shipment of spent nuclear fuel are dictated by DOT regulations (49 CFR Part 397)
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