Response of a Spent Fuel Transportation Cask to a Tunnel Fire Event
The staff of the Spent Fuel Project Office at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission undertook the investigation and thermal analysis of the Baltimore tunnel fire event. This event occurred in the Howard Street tunnel, in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 18, 2001. The staff was tasked with assessing the consequences of this event on the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. This paper describes the staff's coordination with the following government and laboratory organizations: the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), to determine the details of the train derailment and fire; the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to quantify the thermal conditions within the tunnel; the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis (CNWRA), to validate the NIST evaluations, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), to assist in the thermal analysis. The results of the staff's review and analysis efforts are also discussed. The staff has concluded that had the spent fuel transportation cask analyzed, a design approved under 10 CFR Part 71, been subjected to the Howard Street tunnel fire, no release of radioactive materials would have resulted from this postulated event, and the health and safety of the public would have been maintained.
- Research Organization:
- U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville MD (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- none (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 826323
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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