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Title: Demand forecast for rail shipment of radioactive material in the United States

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6103431

A summary of the market potential for radioactive material (in millions of ton-miles) is presented in tabular form. These include the following: milled uranium ore; mill tailings; natural uranium hexafluoride; enriched uranium hexafluoride; fresh fuel, spent fuel; low-level waste; transuranic waste; and high-level waste. The maximum realistic market share for rail carriers is always less than these values because of the lack of rail access to some shipping and receiving facilities, small material quantities which could most easily move by other modes, short shipping distances for certain transport segments and greater operational convenience of other modes for some material categories. While market share and revenues for radioactive material are presently small, rail carriers appear to have a market advantage for milled uranium ore, transuranic waste and high-level waste. The potential for a significantly increased market share exists for spent fuel and uranium hexafluoride. While more fresh fuel and low-level waste can be transported by rail, it is unlikely that rail market share for radioactive materials (RAM) in general will rise to the potential maximum because many of these materials have historically been moved by truck and transported in frequent, small shipments.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
6103431
Report Number(s):
SAND-81-1560C; CONF-811103-8; TTC-0232; ON: DE81025859; TRN: 81-017168
Resource Relation:
Conference: ANS winter meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 29 Nov 1981
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English