GOING THE DISTANCE?
THE SAFE TRANSPORT OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN THE UNITED STATES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
Support for this study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG28-02RW12177), U.S. Department of Transportation (Order No. DTRS56-02-P-70041 and Contract No. DTPH56-05-C-0002), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Cooperative Agreement No. NRC-02-02-014), Electric Power Research Institute (Cooperative Agreement No. EP-P9056/C4563), National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and the National Academy of Sciences. All opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these agencies and organizations.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
NEAL F. LANE, Chair,
Rice University, Houston, Texas
THOMAS B. DEEN, Vice Chair,
National Research Council (retired), Stevensville, Maryland
JULIAN AGYEMAN,
Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
LISA M. BENDIXEN,
ICF Consulting, Lexington, Massachusetts
DENNIS C. BLEY,
Buttonwood Consulting, Inc., Oakton, Virginia
HANK C. JENKINS-SMITH,
Texas A&M University, College Station
MELVIN F. KANNINEN,
MFK Consulting Services, San Antonio, Texas
ERNEST J. MONIZ,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JOHN W. POSTON, SR.,
Texas A&M University, College Station
LACY E. SUITER,
Federal Emergency Management Agency (retired), Alexandria, Virginia
JOSEPH M. SUSSMAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
ELIZABETH TEN EYCK,
ETE Consulting, Inc., Great Falls, Virginia
SETH TULER,
Social & Environmental Research Institute, Greenfield, Massachusetts
DETLOF VON WINTERFELDT,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
THOMAS R. WARNE,
Tom Warne & Associates, LLC, South Jordan, Utah
CLIVE N. YOUNG,
United Kingdom Department for Transport, London
Board on Radioactive Waste Management Liaison1
NORINE E. NOONAN,
College of Charleston, South Carolina
Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Study Director,
Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
JOSEPH MORRIS, Senior Program Officer,
Transportation Research Board
DARLA J. THOMPSON, Research Associate
LAURA D. LLANOS, Senior Program Assistant
LEE FINEWOOD, Intern
BRANDON JONES, Intern
NUCLEAR AND RADIATION STUDIES BOARD
RICHARD A. MESERVE, Chair,
Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C.
S. JAMES ADELSTEIN, Vice Chair,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
HAROLD L. BECK,
Environmental Measurements Laboratory (retired), New York City, New York
JOEL S. BEDFORD,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
ROBERT M. BERNERO,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired), Gaithersburg, Maryland
SUE B. CLARK,
Washington State University, Pullman
JAMES E. CLEAVER,
University of California, San Francisco
ALLEN G. CROFF,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (retired), Tennessee
DAVID E. DANIEL,
University of Texas at Dallas
SARAH C. DARBY,
Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU), Oxford, United Kingdom
SHARON L. DUNWOODY,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
RODNEY C. EWING,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ROGER L. HAGENGRUBER,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
DANIEL KREWSKI,
University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
KLAUS KÜHN,
Technische Universität Clausthal, Germany
SUSAN M. LANGHORST,
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
NIKOLAY P. LAVEROV,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
MILTON LEVENSON,
Bechtel International (retired), Menlo Park, California
C. CLIFTON LING,
Memorial Hospital, New York City, New York
PAUL A. LOCKE,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
WARREN F. MILLER,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
ANDREW M. SESSLER,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
ATSUYUKI SUZUKI,
Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, Tokyo
JOHN C. VILLFORTH,
Food and Drug Law Institute (retired), Derwood, Maryland
PAUL L. ZIEMER,
Purdue University (retired), West Lafayette, Indiana
Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Senior Board Director
EVAN DOUPLE, Scholar
RICK JOSTES, Senior Program Officer
MICAH D. LOWENTHAL, Senior Program Officer
BARBARA PASTINA, Senior Program Officer
JOHN R. WILEY, Senior Program Officer
CATHERINE S. BERKLEY, Financial and Administrative Officer
TONI GREENLEAF, Financial and Administrative Associate
DARLA J. THOMPSON, Research Associate
COURTNEY GIBBS, Senior Program Assistant
LAURA D. LLANOS, Senior Program Assistant
MARILI ULLOA, Senior Program Assistant
JAMES YATES, JR., Office Assistant
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
JOHN R. NJORD, Chair,
Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
MICHAEL D. MEYER, Vice Chair,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
MICHAEL W. BEHRENS,
Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
ALLEN D. BIEHLER,
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg
LARRY L. BROWN, SR.,
Mississippi Department of Transportation, Jackson
DEBORAH H. BUTLER,
Norfolk Southern Corporation and Subsidiaries, Atlanta, Georgia
ANNE P. CANBY,
Surface Transportation Policy Project, Washington, D.C.
JOHN L. CRAIG,
Nebraska Department of Roads, Lincoln
DOUGLAS G. DUNCAN,
FedEx Freight, Memphis, Tennessee
NICHOLAS J. GARBER,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
ANGELA GITTENS,
HNTB Corporation, Miami, Florida
GENEVIEVE GIULIANO,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
BERNARD S. GROSECLOSE, JR.,
South Carolina State Ports Authority, Charleston
SUSAN HANSON,
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
JAMES R. HERTWIG,
CSX Intermodal, Jacksonville, Florida
GLORIA JEAN JEFF,
Michigan Department of Transportation, Lansing
ADIB K. KANAFANI,
University of California, Berkeley
HERBERT S. LEVINSON, Herbert S. Levinson Transportation Consultant,
New Haven, Connecticut
SUE MCNEIL,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark
MICHAEL R. MORRIS,
North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
CAROL A. MURRAY,
New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Concord
MICHAEL S. TOWNES,
Hampton Roads Transit, Virginia
C. MICHAEL WALTON,
University of Texas, Austin
LINDA S. WATSON,
LYNX–Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando
Staff
ROBERT E. SKINNER, JR., Executive Director
STEPHEN R. GODWIN, Director,
Studies and Information Services
Acknowledgments
The committee conducted an extensive information-gathering effort during this study and attempted to reach out broadly to a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with transportation of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The successful completion of this report would not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of a very large number of organizations and individuals. The committee would especially like to thank the following organizations and individuals for providing logistical support, advice, and/or information for this study:
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The project sponsors, whose financial support made this study possible: Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). The committee would especially like to acknowledge the following individuals from these organizations for their support of the committee’s information-gathering efforts:
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DOE: Gary Lanthrum, Robin Sweeney, Jeffrey Williams, Judith Holm, Corine Macaluso, Alex Thrower, James Wade, Russ Dyer, Bill Boyle, Barry Miles, Ned Larson, Jozette Booth, Paul Detwiler, and Sue Loudner
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DOT: Dick Hannon, Richard Boyle, Michael Conroy, James Simmons, Kevin Blackwell, and Ryan Paquet
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EPRI: John Kessler
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NAS: E. William Colglazier
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NCHRP: Crawford Jencks
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USNRC: Bill Brach, Earl Easton, Jack Guttman, Mike Mayfield, Francis (Skip) Young, Wayne Hodges, and Bernie White
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The State of Nevada (Robert Loux) and its consultants (Robert Halstead, Jim Hall, Marvin Resnikoff, and James Ballard)
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Nevada counties: Clark County (Irene Navis, Fred Dilger, and Engelbrecht von Tiesenhausen), Eureka County (Abby Johnson), Lincoln County (Kevin Phillips), and Nye County (Les Bradshaw)
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Nuclear industry: Nuclear Energy Institute (Steve Kraft and the late John Vincent); Exelon Nuclear Power Corp. (Jeffrey Benjamin, Annie Caputo, Adam Levin, and Bob Rybak); Progress Energy (Steven Edwards); Energy Resources International (Eileen Supko); Private Fuel Storage (John Parkyn); and Ron Pope (consultant)
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States and state associations: New Mexico (Anne DeLain Clark and W. Scott Field) and Utah (Bill Sinclair); the Western Governors’ Association (Doug Larson); Western Interstate Energy Board (Bill Mackie); Council of State Governments—Midwest Office (Lisa Sattler and Thor Strong); Northeast Council of State Governments (Edward Wilds); and Southern States Energy Board (Chris Wells)
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Emergency management organizations: Department of Homeland Security (Eric Tolbert, Federal Emergency Management Agency); Argonne National Laboratory (Gordon Veerman); City of Chicago Fire Department (Gene Ryan); Linn County, Iowa Emergency Management Agency (Ned Wright); and Illinois Emergency Management Agency (Tim Runyon)
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Transportation organizations: Association of American Railroads (Bob Fronczak); Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (Patrick Brady); Tri-State Motor Transit (David Bennett); Transportation Technology Center (Jon Hannafious); and Union Pacific Railroad (Sandi Covi)
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Universities and research organizations: Doug Ammerman and Ken Sorensen (Sandia National Laboratories); Bob O’Connor (National Science Foundation); Amy Goodin (University of New Mexico); Dennis Mileti (University of Colorado); Michael Lindell (Texas A&M University); James Flynn (Decision Research); Christiana Drew (University of Washington); Elaine Vaughan (University of California, Irvine); and Christopher Becker (University of Michigan)
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Other nongovernmental organizations: National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (Veronica Eady); Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force (Judy Treichel); Citizen Alert (Michele Boyd and Peggy Maze); Southwest Research and Information Center (Don Hancock); International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management (Mervyn Tano); and the Keystone Center (Janesse Brewer)
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The many other individuals who attended and offered personal comments at the committee’s meetings or provided information and materials for this report
A subgroup of committee members visited Germany and the United Kingdom during the study to become better acquainted with European transportation practices and experiences (see Appendix B). The committee would especially like to acknowledge and thank the following organizations for providing logistical support and information for this trip:
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German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM); especially Manfred Hennecke and Thomas Böllinghaus, who arranged the committee’s visit to BAM to witness a package test
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AREVA; especially Frederic Bailly and Vincent Roland, who arranged a briefing for the committee subgroup on French transportation operations
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British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL); especially Colin Boardman and Jonathan Carter, who arranged and accompanied the committee subgroup on its tour of BNFL facilities
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Roger Evans (London Assembly), Linda Hayes (Cricklewood Against Nuclear Trains), Steve Robinson (Environment Business Management), and Patrick van den Bulck (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) for sharing their perspectives with the committee about BNFL’s transport program
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Christopher Pecover (U.K. Department of Transport) for accompanying the committee on its visit to the United Kingdom
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscript remains confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Mark Abkowitz, Vanderbilt University
John Ahearne, Sigma Xi and Duke University
Robert Bernero, Consultant
Sherwood Chu, Consultant
Emil Frankel, Parsons Brinckerhoff
B. John Garrick, Consultant
Richard Garwin, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center (emeritus)
David Kocher, SENES Oak Ridge Center for Risk Assessment
Dick Meserve, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Kathleen Meyer, Keystone Scientific, Inc.
Bill Nix, Stanford University (emeritus)
Eugene Rosa, Washington State University
Frank Saccomanno, University of Waterloo
Gordon Veerman, Argonne National Laboratory
Chelsea White III, Georgia Institute of Technology
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Chris Whipple, ENVIRON International Corporation, and Lester Hoel, University of Virginia. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.
Finally, this report could not have been completed without the help of many National Research Council staff. The committee especially wants to acknowledge Kevin Crowley (Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board) and Joe Morris and Steve Godwin (Transportation Research Board) for their help in organizing the committee’s information-gathering meetings and developing the committee’s final report; Darla Thompson, Lee Finewood, and Brandon Jones (Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board) for assistance with research and writing; Laura Llanos (Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board) for handling committee logistics; and Steve Mautner and Mary Kalamaras (National Academies Press) for helping the committee better understand the audience for this report.