Risk assessment of spent LWR fuel cask rail accidents

Conference · Tue Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1989 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5492048

Sandquist, G M ^[1]; Rogers, V C ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City (USA)
2. Rogers Associates Engineering Corporation, Salt Lake City, UT (USA)

Although there has never been a transportation accident involving spent reactor fuel that resulted in a release of radioactive material to the environment, spent-fuel casks (e.g., rail casks which contain more than a dozen light water reactor spent-fuel assemblies) could conceptually be involved in a variety of transportation accidents. If none of the radioactive contents are released from the cask to the environment, even though fuel assemblies may have suffered significant damage, then the gamma and neutron radiation field surrounding the disrupted cask is essentially the same as that from an undisturbed cask. The credible release of radioactive materials to the environment from a breached cask is a complex process with many variations and potential consequences. The estimated probability for the occurrence of any release scenario is no greater than two events per million rail transportation accidents. For the urban population, a worst-case cask rail accident with impact and burst rupture enhanced by oxidation could result in 22 latent health effects if ground-deposited nuclides are not remediated. During this same 50-yr period, the population (4,800,000) within the 80-km radius would experience {approximately}470,000 cancer fatalities from all other causes. The rural population could sustain {approximately}0.04 latent health effects from the same spent-fuel accident, while experiencing 730 cancer fatalities from other causes.

• OSTI ID: 5492048
• Report Number(s): CONF-891103--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Vol. 60; ISSN TANSA; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210100 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
210200 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
ACCIDENTS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTAINMENT
CRACK PROPAGATION
CRACKS
DEPOSITION
DEPRESSURIZATION
DIFFUSION
DISSOLUTION
DOSES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
FUELS
GAMMA RADIATION
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INGESTION
INHALATION
INTAKE
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LAND TRANSPORT
LEACHING
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
OXIDATION
POPULATIONS
PUBLIC HEALTH
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATIONS
RADIOACTIVITY TRANSPORT
RAIL TRANSPORT
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPENT FUELS
TRANSPORT
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS