Transportation
You might wonder if it's safe
to transport spent fuel from many parts of the country to the
Private Fuel Storage, LLC (PFS) facility in Skull Valley, Utah.
The answer is "yes" and here's why:
The spent fuel casks will be
transported to the Skull Valley facility primarily by dedicated
train. At no time, during shipment or storage, will the casks
be opened or the fuel handled in any way.
PFS is working closely with the
railroad industry to design and test a new rail car to carry
the heavy transportation casks. The new rail car has many advanced
safety features, including electro-pneumatic braking, for shorter
stopping distances; devices on each wheel bearing that monitor
continuously for vibration, temperature and resistance to turning;
shelved couplers that prevent accidental de-coupling; and a global
positioning system that will allow constant monitoring of train
location. Unlike other flatbed rail cars, the PFS car body is
fastened to wheel sets. The car has four trucks (wheel sets)
instead of two to spread the weight out, limit wear on tracks,
and facilitate turning on curves, thus decreasing the potential
for a derailment. The cars are being built by Trinity Industries.
The shipment of spent fuel does
require careful handling. That is why the nuclear industry, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Department of Transportation
have such strict standards for shipping highly radioactive material.
PFS will develop transportation
plans well before any shipments begin. Plans will comply with
U.S. Department of Transportation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission
regulations. Route selection will be coordinated with railroads
and U.S. DOT; states through which shipments will pass will be
consulted in the planning process. The actual timing of shipments
will be confidential for obvious security reasons.
The transportation of spent nuclear
fuel is nothing new even though you don't hear much about spent
fuel shipments. In fact, in more than 40 years of shipping spent
fuel in this country, and with nearly 3,000 shipments, there
has never been an accident that resulted in the loss of any radioactive
material from a container or a radiation-related injury to a
member of the public.
Radioactive materials are packaged
for shipping according to their potential risk. For spent fuel,
the fuel rods are sealed in a stainless steel cylinder, then
encased in heavy-metal shielding plus two more layers of steel.
The cask measures about seven feet in diameter and 17 feet in
length. Each cask may weigh as much as 125 tons. (Photograph
of cask on dedicated train rail car.)
The design of the transportation
cask PFS will use has been certified by the NRC. This means that
the casks have been tested through computer simulation and scale
model tests to ensure they meet the regulations and will protect
their cargo and the public in any transportation accident.
[ About The Project ]
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