RE: Truck carrying 'low-level' radioactive tools crashes

["Joseph Heckman" <jheckman@envirocareutah.com>]

This accident should be used to demonstrate the inherent safety involved

with transporting radioactive materials.  Since packaging requirements are

commensurate with the hazard present in the shipment and this shipment was a

relatively low hazard shipment (I am assuming that this was a "Radioactive

SCO shipment), the package was only required to be "strong, tight" or

Industrial Packaging I.  These types of packages are only required to be

designed to withstand conditions normally incident to transportation, which

would not include a 30 mph impact with an overpass.  Notwithstanding the

design requirements, the container did not fail.

If this had been a shipment of Type B material (SNF for example), the

packaging is held to much more rigorous "potential accident" testing.  I say

this somewhat tongue in cheek, but this could be used to satisfy the

requests for "real world" accident testing from the anti's.



Joseph Heckman RRPT

Site Radiation Safety Officer

Containerized Waste Facility

Envirocare of Utah, Inc

435.884.0155

mailto:jheckman@envirocareutah.com







"Communications without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without

communications is irrelevant." Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC







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