Crack in nuke waste container discovered

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

The Energy Department will delay the transportation of low-level nuclear waste to the Nevada Test Site from a New York reprocessing plant after investigators discovered a crack in a container in the first shipment, a spokesman said.

Radiological inspectors found an inch-long crack in one of seven low-level nuclear waste containers after white foam was discovered on the bed of truck used to haul the shipment, DOE spokesman Joseph Davis said.

An International Waste Removal Inc. truck was carrying the containers, packed with low-level nuclear waste from a defunct DOE West Valley, N.Y., reprocessing plant, to the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. DOE and state inspectors discovered the crack after responding to an emergency call on Monday about a fuel spill at a truck stop near Wendover.

"We will do a procedural review of shipping at the facility," Davis said, noting it normally takes 10 to 15 days to complete the process.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has called for a national transportation review of hazardous cargoes, said the DOE's review may not go far enough.

"Accidents can happen, accidents do happen and they happen a lot more than we know," Reid said today. The senator said he has his own plan that deals with transporting hazardous waste, although he did not provide details this morning. He said he will make an announcement on the plan later this week.

State and local radiological experts said no radiation was detected on the cask or in the foam, which was formed by a grainy packing material called Waterworks, which leaked from the 6-by-4 container.

None of the seven containers, the truck bed or the spot where the truck had been parked were contaminated with radiation, said Stan Marshall, director of the state's Radiological Health Division.

Davis said the damaged container had been secured and shipped to a temporary storage site in Utah. The driver delivered the six intact containers to the Test Site Tuesday night.

DOE experts wrapped the cracked container in a plastic seal then placed it in a Sea-van, a container with a door on each end used to transport cargo on ships.

The truck driver will pick up the damaged container from the Utah site and return it to New York, Davis said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said the apparent leak further illustrates the dangers of transporting nuclear waste by truck or train. The DOE plans to ship high-level nuclear waste through 43 states to a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, if the site is approved.

"It's unfortunate that it takes a near catastrophe to make the point that we in Nevada have been trying to make for years, namely that the transportation of nuclear waste poses an unacceptable risk to every single community through which this material would be transported," Guinn said.

"The Wendover shipment was low-level waste," the governor said. "What happens if it's high-level?"