Truck accident involving unirradiated nuclear fuel
In the early morning of Dec. 16, 1991, a severe accident occurred when a passenger vehicle traveling in the wrong direction collided with a tractor trailer carrying 24 nuclear fuel assemblies in 12 containers on Interstate 1-91 in Springfield, Massachusetts. This paper documents the mechanical circumstances of the accident and the physical environment to which the containers were exposed and the response of the containers and their contents. The accident involved four impacts where the truck was struck by the car, impacted on the center guardrail, impacted on the outer concrete barrier and came to rest against the center guardrail. The impacts were followed by a fire that began in the engine compartment, spread to the.tractor and cab, and eventually spread to the trailer and payload. The fire lasted for about three hours and the packages were involved in the fire for about two hours. As a result of the fire, the tractor-trailer was completely destroyed and the packages were exposed to flames with temperatures between 1300[degrees]F and 1800[degrees]F. The fuel assemblies remained intact during the accident and there was no release of any radioactive material during the accident. This was a very severe accident; however, the injuries were minor and at no time was the public health and safety at risk.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USNRC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6547795
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-110999; CONF-9207102-77; ON: DE93012488
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) annual meeting, Orlando, FL (United States), 19-22 Jul 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
MASSACHUSETTS
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
NUCLEAR FUELS
TRANSPORT
CONTAINERS
CONTAMINATION
DIESEL FUELS
FIRES
PUBLIC HEALTH
RADIATION MONITORING
SAFETY
TIRES
WOOD
ACCIDENTS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISTILLATES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS OILS
LIQUID FUELS
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PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
PETROLEUM FRACTIONS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
USA
050900* - Nuclear Fuels- Transport
Handling
& Storage