Re: Truck carrying radioactive material ignites on Hwy 10" (near Montreal)

[Tupin.Edward@epamail.epa.gov]

- -----Original Message-----

>From: Franta, Jaroslav [mailto:frantaj@AECL.CA]

>Sent: Friday, August 02, 2002 8:41 AM

>To: Radsafe (E-mail)

>Subject: " Truck carrying radioactive material ignites on Hwy 10 "

(near

>Montreal)







>A colleague here was stuck in that traffic jam yesterday morning on his

way

>to Montreal, and another colleague sent this news story....



>Jaro



>Truck carrying radioactive material ignites on Hwy 10: Transport was

headed

>to Centre de Medecins Nucleaire du Sherbrooke

>The Record (Sherbrooke)

>Fri 02 Aug 2002



>A tractor-trailer caught fire on Highway 10 early yesterday morning

after

>the brakes jammed on the vehicle transporting hazardous material,

according

>to Surete de Quebec spokesperson Constable Manon Gaignard.



>The SQ received a call at approximately 4:15 a.m. reporting the

accident

>near Carignan, involving 2 kilograms of radioactive iodine being

transported

>to the Centre de Medecins Nucleaire du Sherbrooke. The substance is

used for

>exams in the department of nuclear medicine to diagnose any

malfunctioning

>of the thyroid glands, said CHUS spokesperson Robert Nadon.



>The highway was closed for five hours due to the accident, with traffic

>backed up nearly 10 kilometres, to enable officials from the Minister

of

>Environment to inspect the damage and contact the Canadian Nuclear

Safety

>Commission. The left lane was closed to traffic until midday yesterday.





>"The trailer burned completely," said Gaignard. A minor accident

occurred on

>the other side of the road as well, she added, because of curious

onlookers

>watching the blazing truck during rush hour.



>The immediate report filed by Transport Canada shows that there was no

>radioactive spill, the material was enclosed in a protective capsule

and

>remained untouched by the flames, explained Michel Cleroux,

communications

>officer for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.



Sounds like the packaging and shielding did what it was designed to do -

protect the radioactive material from leaking, even under accident

conditions.  In a sense, this is a radioactive material shipment

"success" story.  An accident, a significant fire, no release.



The reporter is probably just reporting the available facts -  the

package, as given to the carrier had to have the weight in kilograms

listed on the bill of lading.  In this case, the package, including any

shielding, and any dry ice that might have been used to keep the iodine

compound frozen (3 pounds or about 1.5 kilograms is typical for an

overnight shipment) made up a package that was listed as weighing 2

kilograms. Yes, the package size would be listed by weight, even if it

contained liquid.  That is the ways the shipping rules (IATA) are

written.  The reporter probably didn't understand what "TBq" meant, but

did know what "kg" was, and reported what was familiar.



disclaimer: The above statements do not necessarily reflect the views of

the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ed

Edward A. Tupin, MS, CHP

tupin.edward@epa.gov

Health Physicist

Center for Radiological Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Response

US Environmental Protection Agency

(202) 564-9383





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