A public interest information project about nuclear waste burial in Canada.
Know Nuclear Waste
Transportation of nuclear fuel waste will come with its own set of hazards and risks. The practice is relatively unknown in Canada, and the few incidents of highly radio-active nuclear fuel waste being transported in Canada are not comparable to the frequency and volume of transportation that would be required to move all of Canada's nuclear fuel waste to a single location. There are risks of accident, but there are also concerns with the transport of the fuel under "normal" conditions.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization produced four technical papers on transportation of nuclear fuel waste while developing their proposal, but none of these papers address issues of radioactive releases and exposures associated with the transportation of nuclear fuel waste.
Transportation
Transportation Reports
U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was established by U.S. Congress in 1987 to provide independent review of the technical and scientific validity of the U.S. Department of Energy nuclear fuel waste program. including the disposal, transportation, and packaging of the waste. This review identifies 30 technical issues that will need to be addressed in a national transportation program. U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, 2019
Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material 2018 Edition, International Atomic Energy Agency
This report includes descriptions of 16 accidents and incidents involving the transport of radioactive materials to, from or within the UK, which occurred in 2012. The number of events reported in 2012 was lower than in 2011 (38 events), and below the range of the number of events that have occurred in the last five-year period: 38 events in 2011, 30 events in 2010, 33 events in 2009, 39 events in 2008 and 26 events in 2007.
Risks and Hazards Arising in the Transportation of Irradiated Fuel and Nuclear Fuel Materials in the United Kingdom
The Review identifies potential accidents and malevolent acts that could severely damage a spent fuel transportation flask, thereby enabling the release of radioactivity, in the form of particles and aerosols, and the corresponding health risk imposed on unprotected members of public. Because the rail routes take the spent fuel trains through major urban conurbations (London, Bristol, etc) many thousands of population could be subject to radiation exposure in the aftermath of such an event., Large and Associates. U.K. 2006
Going the Distance? The Safe Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in the United States
National Academy of Sciences analysis of the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in the United States, while simultaneously examining risks and identifying current and future technical and societal concerns for such specialized transportation. U.S.A. 2006
Radiation Exposures From Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Nuclear Waste Transportation to a Geologic Repository or Interim Storage Facility in Nevada
A summary of government technical studies examining aspects of spent nuclear fuel(SNF) and high-level radioactive waste(HLW) transportation which could result in increased radiation exposures to transportation workers, members of the general public, and emergency response personnel.
Probablistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Waste Transportation
A case study conducted for the State of Nevada by Radioactive Waste Management Associates, Provides an excellent background in the topic area. U.S.A. 1990
NWMO Transportation Reports, 2001 - 2021
August 2020 : The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has released a "draft transportation planning framework" with an "Invitation to comment". No deadline stated, other than a general timeline of releasing another version in 2021.
NWMO began touring their nuclear waste transportation display in 2014. The display is a full sized replica of a 1987 transport design by Ontario Hydro, re-certified by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in ~2013 without public review.