RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
Radioactive materials are transported everyday, by rail, truck and barges. The materials range from contaminated dirt to medical supplies, fuel rods for nuclear power plants and even weapons. The marking requirements range from placards to unmarked vehicles in special circumstances. Unmarked vehicles are sometimes used because the amount being shipped is not that great of a risk, or because it can cause a great deal of public unrest, remember the old white trains?
When the public sees or hears radioactive material, they get very upset and concerned. This is not because of knowledge, but rather the lack of understanding and knowledge about radioactive materials. They all picture the mushroom clouds from explosions.
But the safety standards and requirements for radioactive materials transportation are so strict that the chances of a major problem do exist, but at a greatly reduced chance than from any other hazardous material. The differences in the materials themselves and the methods of transport make this distinction a major factor.
We can see a gas leak or hear it, you can smell ammonia, follow a liquid leak or see a powder spill. But a radioactive material is a solid substance which we can see, but the risks are unseen. We can not detect radiation by smell, taste, hearing it, or even see it. You must utilize specialized equipment to detect it.
It is there however and that is the reason for all of the regulations, so that the public and environment are protected. The containers used to ship radioactive materials are some of the safest used to transport materials in the industry. They are built to withstand violent crashes and fires. These are the ones that are built to transport fuel rods and other forms of high risk radioactive materials.
The main routes used in the transportation of radioactive materials are Interstates 80, 84, and 95, with Interstate 80 being the most heavily traveled route due to the large amounts of used and generators the radioactive materials within 50 or so miles of the highway. Another factor is the burial grounds at Hanford Washington, Arlington Oregon and Sheffield Illinois are reached via this highway. Interstate 95 has a lot of nuclear power plants nearby so it is heavily traveled as well.
In terms of incidents, radioactive materials account for about 3% of all incident which were studied in 1980, in contrast flammables, accounted for 51.3 % of all the incidents. The Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) regulates all materials shipped by trucks, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (N.R.C.) has responsibility for safety in possession, use, and transportation of radioactive materials. This is in addition to the many cities, counties, and states that regulate radioactive materials being transported though their local areas.
Now the nuts and bolts of the subject are presented, the limits of exposure were determined for health reasons and are set in yearly exposure doses, which are;
170mr for the general public
25 R for a once in a lifetime industry worker (emergency)
75-100 R for a lifesaving rescue.
The unit of measure of radioactive materials is calls a REM or R which stands for Roentgen Equivalent Man. It is the unit that expresses the ionization effects of gamma radiation (and x-rays) in air. The curie is another unit of measurements which is the amount of radioactive materials that will give 37 BILLION (37,000,000,000) disintegrations per second.
Now I know that this is a lot of hard stuff to understand but I fee that you should know the differences since we are worried about the REM’s. These are what will do you in.
The rays that everyone seems to worry about are only 3 kinds, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays. A ray is a stream of the particles.
Alpha rays are very large particles, that do not travel very far in air, about 3 inches, and can be stopped by a sheet of paper most of the time, However if they enter the body they can attack the organs and be absorbed by the bones. Use extreme care around radioactive materials.
Beta rays are about 2000 times smaller than Alpha rays, which were about the size of a helium atoms nucleus. That’s small, but they travel about 8 times faster and can be stopped by about 1/24 inch of aluminum or even Plexiglas. These can do as much harm if they get into your body, although in large quantities they can produce serious damage to the skin and tissue directly beneath the skin.
Gamma rays are similar to X-Rays, expect they have a much shorter wavelength than x-rays. But they have over 100 times the penetrating power of Beta rays, and about 10,000 times more than Alpha rays. This is what will pass though you, your truck and the concrete way next to you. With this great power they cause damage to your internal body structures and serious localized damage when striking the skin. It takes 1 and ½ inches of steel to get the gamma rays power cut in half. Whew, this stuff is nasty.
Another measurement that you know about or should is the TI or transport index, which is the unit of measurement that is taken 3 feet from the surface of the package. You can not exceed 50mr. This is for shipments of 1 to 50 containers. Oh there are some other limits for vehicles and they may seem high but they are lower than the cargo itself.
200mr/hour @ outer surface of the vehicle
10mr/hr @ 2 meters (6 feet) from the vehicle
2mr/hr @ occupied position – driver’s seat
Anyone want a job that you are the driver of a truck carrying radioactive materials, 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks out of the year. Figure it out, it’s scary and it did not include the other exposures to work places you are delivering to.
So if you are faced with a radioactive materials accident vehicle, you can see that the vehicle will be “HOT” even if the material has been removed. Any advice that someone gives you would be worth listening too! Or do you want to glow in the dark and be your own highway flare.
But most of all, keep away from the material, approach from upwind and avoid smoke. Yeah it can be carried in smoke from a fire. If you have to approach or contact any radioactive material, keep you and anyone else isolated to prevent the spread of contaminations. Some things can not be cleaned and must be buried. Don’t take a chance with your $ 150,000 tow truck by using the radio or something. You would hate to see it buried or destroyed because of a mistake.
My dad used to sell power company equipment and told me about one demo gone wrong up at Hanford. They had rented a digger derrick from his company and were digging some test holes, when they hit a cask or drum. Contaminated the rig and it had to be buried on the spot. Well that was a quick sale for my dad’s company.
Above all keep people away from the materials and any contaminated people / equipment. The further back the better off everyone is. This is the safest way to be sure that no problems will happen later. The distance / shielding factor is real important. If you can get behind a hill, building, wall or something like that your much better off. There are a lot of things that affect you when dealing with this stuff, but remember to be safe. It can help keep you healthy.
The records for 1970 to 1980 show that 75 accidents happened to radioactive materials shipments, resulting in NO FATALIES or perceptible injure do to the radioactive aspect of the shipment. It did not kill anyone due to the release of a large quantity, or small quantity. But the accidents themselves did kill someone.
On December 31, 1987, a truck carrying 41,000 pounds of low level radioactive waste, overturned on a snow covered road in the Hanford Washington area. The cargo was in several boxes on a flatbed trailer, of which several steel boxes opened during the accident releasing radon contaminated dirt, rags, paper and soil. The level of radiation was approximately 1mr, which is lower than background radiation. The main hazards were airborne particles of radioactive dust. The truck was up righted and removed for decontamination, and the site was cleaned up. I would hope that the recovery crew if they were tow truck drivers were advised of the proper safety equipment and decontamination procedures.
This is just one of the many shipments which are moved in the United States on a daily basis. Most all shipments are made with no problems, but accidents do happen. Tri-State Motor Transport Company does a lot of these shipments and movements of radioactive materials, and they have a great safety record of over 64,000,000 miles without a single release of materials in an accident.
Radioactive materials are transported everyday, by rail, truck and barges. The materials range from contaminated dirt to medical supplies, fuel rods for nuclear power plants and even weapons. The marking requirements range from placards to unmarked vehicles in special circumstances. Unmarked vehicles are sometimes used because the amount being shipped is not that great of a risk, or because it can cause a great deal of public unrest, remember the old white trains?
When the public sees or hears radioactive material, they get very upset and concerned. This is not because of knowledge, but rather the lack of understanding and knowledge about radioactive materials. They all picture the mushroom clouds from explosions.
But the safety standards and requirements for radioactive materials transportation are so strict that the chances of a major problem do exist, but at a greatly reduced chance than from any other hazardous material. The differences in the materials themselves and the methods of transport make this distinction a major factor.
We can see a gas leak or hear it, you can smell ammonia, follow a liquid leak or see a powder spill. But a radioactive material is a solid substance which we can see, but the risks are unseen. We can not detect radiation by smell, taste, hearing it, or even see it. You must utilize specialized equipment to detect it.
It is there however and that is the reason for all of the regulations, so that the public and environment are protected. The containers used to ship radioactive materials are some of the safest used to transport materials in the industry. They are built to withstand violent crashes and fires. These are the ones that are built to transport fuel rods and other forms of high risk radioactive materials.
The main routes used in the transportation of radioactive materials are Interstates 80, 84, and 95, with Interstate 80 being the most heavily traveled route due to the large amounts of used and generators the radioactive materials within 50 or so miles of the highway. Another factor is the burial grounds at Hanford Washington, Arlington Oregon and Sheffield Illinois are reached via this highway. Interstate 95 has a lot of nuclear power plants nearby so it is heavily traveled as well.
In terms of incidents, radioactive materials account for about 3% of all incident which were studied in 1980, in contrast flammables, accounted for 51.3 % of all the incidents. The Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) regulates all materials shipped by trucks, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (N.R.C.) has responsibility for safety in possession, use, and transportation of radioactive materials. This is in addition to the many cities, counties, and states that regulate radioactive materials being transported though their local areas.
Now the nuts and bolts of the subject are presented, the limits of exposure were determined for health reasons and are set in yearly exposure doses, which are;
170mr for the general public
25 R for a once in a lifetime industry worker (emergency)
75-100 R for a lifesaving rescue.
The unit of measure of radioactive materials is calls a REM or R which stands for Roentgen Equivalent Man. It is the unit that expresses the ionization effects of gamma radiation (and x-rays) in air. The curie is another unit of measurements which is the amount of radioactive materials that will give 37 BILLION (37,000,000,000) disintegrations per second.
Now I know that this is a lot of hard stuff to understand but I fee that you should know the differences since we are worried about the REM’s. These are what will do you in.
The rays that everyone seems to worry about are only 3 kinds, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays. A ray is a stream of the particles.
Alpha rays are very large particles, that do not travel very far in air, about 3 inches, and can be stopped by a sheet of paper most of the time, However if they enter the body they can attack the organs and be absorbed by the bones. Use extreme care around radioactive materials.
Beta rays are about 2000 times smaller than Alpha rays, which were about the size of a helium atoms nucleus. That’s small, but they travel about 8 times faster and can be stopped by about 1/24 inch of aluminum or even Plexiglas. These can do as much harm if they get into your body, although in large quantities they can produce serious damage to the skin and tissue directly beneath the skin.
Gamma rays are similar to X-Rays, expect they have a much shorter wavelength than x-rays. But they have over 100 times the penetrating power of Beta rays, and about 10,000 times more than Alpha rays. This is what will pass though you, your truck and the concrete way next to you. With this great power they cause damage to your internal body structures and serious localized damage when striking the skin. It takes 1 and ½ inches of steel to get the gamma rays power cut in half. Whew, this stuff is nasty.
Another measurement that you know about or should is the TI or transport index, which is the unit of measurement that is taken 3 feet from the surface of the package. You can not exceed 50mr. This is for shipments of 1 to 50 containers. Oh there are some other limits for vehicles and they may seem high but they are lower than the cargo itself.
200mr/hour @ outer surface of the vehicle
10mr/hr @ 2 meters (6 feet) from the vehicle
2mr/hr @ occupied position – driver’s seat
Anyone want a job that you are the driver of a truck carrying radioactive materials, 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks out of the year. Figure it out, it’s scary and it did not include the other exposures to work places you are delivering to.
So if you are faced with a radioactive materials accident vehicle, you can see that the vehicle will be “HOT” even if the material has been removed. Any advice that someone gives you would be worth listening too! Or do you want to glow in the dark and be your own highway flare.
But most of all, keep away from the material, approach from upwind and avoid smoke. Yeah it can be carried in smoke from a fire. If you have to approach or contact any radioactive material, keep you and anyone else isolated to prevent the spread of contaminations. Some things can not be cleaned and must be buried. Don’t take a chance with your $ 150,000 tow truck by using the radio or something. You would hate to see it buried or destroyed because of a mistake.
My dad used to sell power company equipment and told me about one demo gone wrong up at Hanford. They had rented a digger derrick from his company and were digging some test holes, when they hit a cask or drum. Contaminated the rig and it had to be buried on the spot. Well that was a quick sale for my dad’s company.
Above all keep people away from the materials and any contaminated people / equipment. The further back the better off everyone is. This is the safest way to be sure that no problems will happen later. The distance / shielding factor is real important. If you can get behind a hill, building, wall or something like that your much better off. There are a lot of things that affect you when dealing with this stuff, but remember to be safe. It can help keep you healthy.
The records for 1970 to 1980 show that 75 accidents happened to radioactive materials shipments, resulting in NO FATALIES or perceptible injure do to the radioactive aspect of the shipment. It did not kill anyone due to the release of a large quantity, or small quantity. But the accidents themselves did kill someone.
On December 31, 1987, a truck carrying 41,000 pounds of low level radioactive waste, overturned on a snow covered road in the Hanford Washington area. The cargo was in several boxes on a flatbed trailer, of which several steel boxes opened during the accident releasing radon contaminated dirt, rags, paper and soil. The level of radiation was approximately 1mr, which is lower than background radiation. The main hazards were airborne particles of radioactive dust. The truck was up righted and removed for decontamination, and the site was cleaned up. I would hope that the recovery crew if they were tow truck drivers were advised of the proper safety equipment and decontamination procedures.
This is just one of the many shipments which are moved in the United States on a daily basis. Most all shipments are made with no problems, but accidents do happen. Tri-State Motor Transport Company does a lot of these shipments and movements of radioactive materials, and they have a great safety record of over 64,000,000 miles without a single release of materials in an accident.
A good reputation is more valuable than money.
Publilius Syrus (~100 BC)
Publilius Syrus (~100 BC)
