Approximately 20 metric tons of material containing uranium enriched in the United States and provided as part of the Atoms for Peace program is being returned. The rods are to be temporarily stored at the Department of Energy's facilities in South Carolina and Idaho; the Savannah River Site and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The program is a joint effort of the Department of State and Department of Energy and has the support of the Nuclear Control Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The spent fuel rods are shipped in containers, or casks, that are designed and independently tested to withstand catastrophic incidents including derailments. These types of casks have been dropped from a height of 2,000 feet onto a hard desert surface, dropped onto a steel spike, subjected to a head-on collision with a diesel locomotive traveling at 80 miles per hour, crashed into concrete walls at greater than 80 miles per hour, and subjected to a 1,475 degree Fahrenheit fire for 90 minutes and tested to a water depth of 660 feet, all without breaching the casks.

In more than 2,400 shipments of spent nuclear fuel over the last 40 years, there has never been an accident that resulted in the release of radionuclides. Based upon past experience and a detailed environmental review of these shipments, the general public will not receive any exposure to radiation above natural background levels. In the planning and execution of spent fuel shipments, the Department of Energy, working with the states, Tribes and localities, takes extraordinary precautions to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment.

After an exhaustive analysis that included extensive public involvement of 161 potential ports of entry, the Department selected the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, South Carolina and the Concord Naval Weapons Station, California as the preferred ports of entry for the shipment of the fuel rods. Both facilities have large buffer zones around their piers, provide 24 hours security and have a long history of safely handling hazardous materials. In recent months, four shipments from Europe and South America have passed, without incident, through Charleston Naval Weapons Station and have arrived at Department of Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina.

No more than five shipments will transit through the Concord Naval Weapons Station over the next eleven years. By 2009, all shipments which would pass through California will have been completed and shipments will stop. The first West Coast shipment will not occur before June 1998. In preparation for the shipment, the Department of Energy is working with the states of California, Nevada, Utah and Idaho and affected Tribes to make sure that personnel are appropriately trained to respond to a radiological emergency and have the necessary equipment to monitor the local situation. The training is on schedule and will be completed prior to the first shipment. The Department of Energy will provide resources to state and local jurisdictions for the training and equipment they need to support these shipments.

The Department of Energy's shipment procedures and safeguards exceed those required by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ships and casks are inspected before they leave the port of origin, tracked constantly by the Department of Energy, and are again inspected before the material is transferred onto railcars in the United States.

The Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation plan to jointly implement the following safeguards:

1. The Federal Railroad Administration will inspect the track along the route prior to the shipment. The inspection will commence three to four months before the shipment to allow time to take corrective action. 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 verification could use reports from other trains along the same route or separate rail vehicles checking route conditions.

2. 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.

3. In cooperation with the railroad company, every effort will be made to ensure that the train's crews are experienced with and knowledgeable of the route and equipment. The Federal Railroad Administration will station inspectors at the dispatcher's office during the train's movement.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Armed 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.

7. The Governor's representative and the appropriate tribal and local officials (based on security requirements) will be notified of the shipment at least seven days in advance of its arrival at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. 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.

The training and equipment provided by the Department of Energy will mean that state, tribal and local jurisdictions will be better prepared to respond to radiological material incidents.