Truck accident involving unirradiated nuclear fuel

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:6547795

Carlson, R W; Fischer, L E

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: NRC; 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
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
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11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACCIDENTS
CONTAINERS
CONTAMINATION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIESEL FUELS
DISTILLATES
ENERGY SOURCES
FIRES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS OILS
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PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
PETROLEUM FRACTIONS
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PUBLIC HEALTH
RADIATION MONITORING
REACTOR MATERIALS
SAFETY
TIRES
TRANSPORT
USA
WOOD