Ex-NTSB chief rips nuke transport plan

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, April 5, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department needs a clear transportation plan on how it intends to ship nuclear waste to Nevada, Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told congressional aides Friday.

A lack of final decisions on shipping routes, what types of trains will be used -- if any -- and which containers will hold the waste leaves too much uncertainty, Hall said. He spoke on behalf of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects at a Foundation for Nuclear Studies briefing for congressional staff.

The department plans on shipping nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, by 2010 if it receives a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The department anticipates announcing if it will use rail or truck shipments in Nevada sometime this month.

If the department chooses the mostly rail scenarios, Hall said it is "almost a no-brainer" the Energy Department use dedicated trains that would only move spent fuel and nothing else.

John Vincent, a senior project manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute who also spoke at the briefing, agreed that dedicated trains would be best and said a plan for moving the waste seems to be evolving.

Vincent also pointed to the industry's clean safety record on moving spent fuel through the country with no problems for years.

"We continue to tell DOE (the Energy Department) they can learn from the success of commercial shipments," Vincent said.