FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 1998
MEDIA CONTACTS:
California: John Belluardo, 510/637-1811
Nevada: Darwin Morgan, 702/295-1755
Idaho and Utah: Brad Bugger, 208/526-0833
DOE HQ: Anne Elliott, 202/586-1607
CONCORD WILL RECEIVE FIRST SPENT FUEL SHIPMENT IN
JULY
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that the first research
reactor spent nuclear fuel shipment
from Asia through the Concord Naval Weapons Station will arrive in July.
To reduce the threat of nuclear
terrorism, the United States is recovering spent nuclear fuel rods from
foreign research reactors to ensure
that the material will not be used to make nuclear weapons.
This first West Coast shipment will include spent fuel rods from
research reactors in South Korea and
Indonesia en route to the department's Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory
(INEEL). No more than five shipments will pass through Concord over the
next eleven years. The
program will end in 2009. The Department of Energy's East Coast port of
entry, the Charleston Naval
Weapons Station in South Carolina, has already safely received four
shipments which were transported to
the department' s Savannah River site outside Aiken, SC.
Preparations are well underway for the July shipment. The states of
California, Nevada, Utah and Idaho, along with the Department of Energy
have been training emergency responders, hospital workers and law
enforcement personnel along the route. To date, more than 2,000 state
and local personnel have
completed radiological emergency response training. All training will be
completed by June 1.
The spent nuclear fuel being returned contains uranium that was
enriched in the United States and was
initially exported under President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace Program.
Much of this fuel is highly
enriched and can be used in a nuclear weapon.
The fuel rods are shipped in robust "casks" that are independently
tested to withstand severe accident
conditions that might result from derailments, earthquakes, fires,
collisions, falls and immersion in water.
Each cask weighs more than 20 tons. They have eight-inch thick walls of
stainless steel and lead. A fuel
rod is solid metal, approximately 3 feet long, weighs 7.5 pounds, and is
1.5 inches in diameter.
There have been over 2,500 shipments of spent fuel in the United
States since the 1950's. No release of
radioactive materials from any of these casks has ever occurred.
The preferred rail route for the July shipment will pass either
through or near the following communities:
| California: | Martinez,
Benicia, Fairfield, Vacaville, Davis, Sacramento, Marysville, Oroville,
Quincy, Portola and Doyle. |
| Nevada: | The Pyramid Lake Indian
Reservation, Gerlach, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko,
Wells and Montello. |
| Utah: | Ogden, Brigham City and
Portage. |
| Idaho: | Pocatello, Fort Hall, Fort
Hall Indian Reservation and the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory. |
Track inspection and safety oversight initiatives have commenced. The
Departments of Energy and
Transportation are in the process of implementing an extensive safety
compliance plan, which includes
the following actions:
- The Federal Railroad Administration will inspect the track
along the route prior to the
shipment. If corrective actions are necessary, a follow-up inspection
will take place to ensure any
necessary corrections were made. The inspection regime may include the
use of an automated
track inspection vehicle to identify any horizontal and vertical
irregularities in the track that could
affect the safe movement of trains over the route. The inspection will
also include bridges and
overpasses. Discussions are currently underway between the railroad
company and the
Department of Energy to determine the best method for verifying same-day
operational conditions
along the route.
- The rail cars and locomotives used for the spent fuel shipments
will be inspected by officials
from both Federal Railroad Administration and the California Public
Utilities Commission prior
to the shipments leaving the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The
inspections will verify the
operational readiness and safety of the locomotives and railcars.
- In cooperation with the railroad company, every effort will be
made to ensure that the train's
crews are experienced with the route and equipment. Additionally, the
Federal Railroad
Administration will station inspectors at the dispatcher's office during
the train's movement.
- The train used for the spent fuel shipments will be a "dedicated
train" which will not carry any
other cargo. As it moves within the rail system it will be considered a
priority train, whose
movement will be closely coordinated with other rail traffic to reduce
the time the train spends in
transit.
- Grade crossings along the route will be inspected to make sure
that crossing gates and lights are functioning. Federal Railroad
Administration and the Department of Energy will work
with state and local officials to determine if additional measures are
needed at specific crossings.
- Guards, communications personnel and emergency responders with
radiological training will
be aboard the train. In addition, personnel from multiple State agencies
(e.g., Highway Patrol and
radiation health personnel) will be shadowing the train along the entire
route. DOE will work
with the railroad company to identify the locations of cranes that might
be needed in the highly
unlikely event of an incident requiring retrieval of a cask.
- The governor's office in each of the four states will be notified
of the shipment at least seven
days in advance of its arrival at the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
Tribal and local officials
will be notified as appropriate for security requirements. The advance
notification system and the
relevant emergency notification systems will be tested well in advance of
the shipment to make
sure all jurisdictions and agencies are receiving proper information so
that they can be prepared to
take the appropriate action to protect the public health and safety and
the environment if
necessary.
- DOE -
R-98-044
|
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