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Truck Carrying Low-Grade Uranium Overturns on North Carolina Highway

By Eric McErlain
From the AP:
A tractor-trailer hauling about 6,000 pounds of low-grade uranium overturned Thursday as it exited Interstate 95, authorities said.

The truck crashed onto its side after the driver lost control on the exit ramp, said Jason Barbour, Johnston County's emergency communications director. One of two people in the truck suffered minor injuries, and no other vehicles were involved, he said.

The truck was carrying a radioactive material called packaged fissile, Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said. The powdered uranium was packed in containers that weren't breached by the accident, he said.

"There's no threat to the public," Clendenin said. "It's a low grade uranium."

Traffic was diverted after the 9 p.m. crash south of Raleigh, and the exit ramp to Interstate 40 was closed for several hours. Clendenin said the ramp should reopen early Friday morning.

The uranium was being transported by Portsmouth Marine Terminal, from Portsmouth, Va., to Global Nuclear Fuels in Wilmington, a coastal city about 130 miles southeast of Raleigh.
I'm glad to see that everyone is safe, and the containers carrying the "packaged fissile", worked as designed to protect public health and safety. "Low grade uranium," or, low-enriched uranium contains between 3 and 4% Uranium 235. This grade of Uranium, when properly fabricated into fuel pellets, provides the heat source for nuclear reactors in the United States.

The transportation of said materials is jointly regulated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Department of Transportation. From the NRC:
About 3 million packages of radioactive materials are shipped each year in the United States, either by highway, rail, air, or water. Regulating the safety of these shipments is the joint responsibility of the NRC and the Department of Transportation. The NRC establishes requirements for the design and manufacture of packages for radioactive materials. The Department of Transportation [Exit NRC] regulates the shipments while they are in transit, and sets standards for labeling and smaller quantity packages. See Title 49, Transportation, of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations [Exit NRC].
From an NEI fact sheet on transportation of radioactive materials:
Over the years, the nuclear energy industry has transported radioactive materials safely. When accidents have occurred, no one was harmed by the radioactive materials—neither members of the public nor transport workers.

Of the more than 45 million packages of radioactive materials shipped since 1971, accidents involved about 3,500. Of these, only 197 packages containing low-level radioactive materials sustained damage or failed, and in some of these accidents, the packages released a small amount of radioactive material. But in every case, the levels of radioactivity were so low that they presented no hazard to the public or to the workers who cleared the accident scene. When higher levels of radioactivity are involved, this record is even more impressive—no accident has ever breached a used fuel container.

In 1971, a tractor-trailer carrying a 25-ton shipping container filled with used nuclear fuel swerved to avoid a head-on collision and overturned. The trailer, with the container still attached, broke away from the tractor and skidded into a rain-filled ditch. The container suffered minor damage but released no radioactive material.

This accident was the most severe of eight accidents involving the shipment of used fuel transportation containers. Four of the eight occurred during highway transport; the others happened during rail shipment. None caused any release of radioactivity.
For the specific federal regulation that covers transport of this material, click here. For more on Global Nuclear Fuels, a joint venture of General Electric, Toshiba and Hitachi that the material was being transported to, click here. For more on nuclear fuel production, click here for an NEI fact sheet.

Please note, other bloggers have picked up on this, and we've responded appropriately.

UPDATE: A note from our friends at GE: A team from Global Nuclear Fuels was dispatched to the scene and found that the containers carrying the uranium were "virtually undamaged". They were reloaded and arrived at the facility in Wilmington at around 6:00 a.m. U.S. EST.

But what would have happened if the material had spilled? Again, this is from GE:
The type of radiation involved can be shielded by normal clothing or as something as simple as a piece of paper. The only risk for exposure is if the powder is inhaled or ingested which can easily be avoided by the use of standard protective equipment. However, it’s important to emphasis that the material is heavy and not prone to become airborne even if released.
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