Practical Perspectives on Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Risks

Abstract

Transportation of spent nuclear fuel is essential for relocation of used fuel assemblies from temporary storage facilities to a geological repository. There has been a great deal of publicized concern over the hazard of shipments of radiological materials in recent years due to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. This concern over the radiological material transport is commonly based on a public perception of extreme fear or dread associated with radiological material.

The goal of this work is to provide some insight into the practical understanding and relative significance of the risk values presented in a transportation risk assessment. This will be achieved by performing a transportation risk assessment for shipment of spent nuclear fuel, by both truck and rail, for four specific routes. An investigative analysis into the possibility of a successful sabotage attack will also be performed. Finally, a comparison between the transportation and sabotage analysis results will be made to the transportation of other materials. This will include comparison against transport of hazardous chemicals and gases, transport of materials used in the production of electricity, and a comparison against previous work on a potential radiological dispersal device.

This work will show that the transportation risk presented by shipment of spent nuclear fuel is comparable to or less than other hazardous materials. This work will also demonstrate that the transportation risk is less for spent nuclear fuel than for other electrical power producing materials.