How would the transportation of radioactive materials be affected by a terrorist attack?

Most shipments of radioactive materials involve mildly radioactive material such as pharmaceuticals, ores, low-level radioactive waste, and consumer products containing radionuclides (e.g., watches, smoke detectors). A variety of Federal and State government agencies regulate the shipment of radioactive material. High-level nuclear waste materials, such as spent nuclear fuel, are transported in very heavy, robust containers called casks. Over the past 30 years, thousands of shipments of commercially generated spent fuel have been made throughout the U.S. without any radiological releases to the environment or harm to the public. Federal regulations provide for rigorous standards for the design and construction of shipment casks to ensure safe and secure transport of their hazardous contents. Casks must meet extremely demanding standards to ensure their integrity in the most severe conditions, including sabotage. If terrorists did succeed in striking a cask with an explosive during ...  more

Most shipments of radioactive materials involve mildly radioactive material such as pharmaceuticals, ores, low-level radioactive waste, and consumer products containing radionuclides (e.g., watches, smoke detectors). A variety of Federal and State government agencies regulate the shipment of radioactive material.High-level nuclear waste materials, such as spent nuclear fuel, are transported in very heavy, robust containers called casks. Over the past 30 years, thousands of shipments of commercially generated spent fuel have been made throughout the U.S. without any radiological releases to the environment or harm to the public. Federal regulations provide for rigorous standards for the design and construction of shipment casks to ensure safe and secure transport of their hazardous contents. Casks must meet extremely demanding standards to ensure their integrity in the most severe conditions, including sabotage. If terrorists did succeed in striking a cask with an explosive during ...  more