There's no debate. Shipment of spent nuclear fuel is safe and secure
Our Nation has been shipping spent nuclear fuel from commercial and government reactors for over 60 years. In that time there have been over 1300 shipments of commercial fuel and over 850 shipments of government fuel, all of these have been executed safely with no release of radioactive material. Shipments of spent nuclear fuel use robust Type (B) containers that are known for their safe and robust design. Physical testing and evaluation have shown these containers are so strong that they can withstand being dropped 30 ft, dropped again from 4 ft onto a spike, burned for 30 minutes at >1400F, and submerged in water.
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The containers, known as casks, will not breach. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) has shown that these casks, carrying seal welded cannisters that are proposed to be shipped to New Mexico, can withstand a collision with an unyielding object from 120 mph, as well as burned for 3 hours by 30,000 gallons of pooled petroleum without breaching.
It’s hard to overstate the robustness of the spent nuclear fuel shipping containers and the highly regulated process that must be adhered to when making the shipments. The commercial and government nuclear industries have time and again demonstrated a record of safe and secure transportation of spent nuclear fuel following the guidance of the USNRC and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDoT). Based on these facts, it was surprising to read the substance of a recent poll conducted in New Mexico.
The poll was commissioned by opposition groups to determine if New Mexico voters supported a private company shipping and temporarily storing spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico. The only question asked included the following statement “…Experts predict that up to 13 accidents will occur during the 10,000 rail shipments…Opponents say that accidents will occur, exposing people and the environment to dangerous radioactive waste…” To cause fear, the poll selectively utilized and then manipulated statistics from the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published by the USNRC in July 2022.
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The FEIS states that “…13 accidents of any type are possible; however, because the most frequent accidents are not severe there is a higher likelihood that these accidents will not be severe.” The FEIS goes on to say that “…the probability of a severe [accident] is…approximately one in 10 trillion.” Even if the severe accident occurred, “The NRC staff…concluded no release of SNF would occur.” And finally, the USNRC goes on to say that “…the NRC staff concludes that the radiological impacts to workers and the public from the proposed SNF transportation under accident conditions …would be minor.”
The salient point to understand is that due to the focus on safety, risk mitigation, and the policies and procedures in place by the USNRC and USDoT regulating the transport of spent fuel, there’s a one in 10 trillion chance that a severe rail accident would occur during the operational life of the proposed interim facility in New Mexico. In the unlikely event of a severe accident, there would be no release of radioactivity.
It’s disappointing to see the poll pose a question taken out of context and then linked to an unsubstantiated statement by opponents to elicit fear. The question infers that experts are predicting up to 13 accidents and that this will result in exposing people and the environment to radioactive waste.
To properly poll and receive unbiased and useful results, it would have been helpful to properly source the question to understand if the stated concerns were legitimate. In my fact-based opinion, based on the historical data of spent fuel transportation in the U.S. and the analysis by the USNRC documented in the HI-STORE CIS FEIS, it would seem that the poll’s question has no technical merit.
Ed Mayer is a Program Director at Holtec International, where he is responsible for the Consolidated Interim Storage Facility in southeastern New Mexico. Mayer served 28 years in the U.S. Submarine Force where he commanded the USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723) and USS Florida (SSGN-728). He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University where he earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: There's no debate. Shipment of spent nuclear fuel is safe and secure
