NUREG-0725

 Rev. 14

 Public Information Circular 

 for Shipments of Irradiated 

 Reactor Fuel 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response

Washington, DC 20555-0001
 NUREG-0725

 Rev. 14

 

Public Information Circular

for Shipments of Irradiated

Reactor Fuel

Manuscript Completed: September 2006

Date Published: September 2006

Prepared by

A. Giantelli, S. Bagley

S. Bagley, NRC Project Manager

Prepared for

Division of Nuclear Security Policy 

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001
iii

ABSTRACT

This report provides information on the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel) subject to

regulation by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It briefly describes spent fuel

shipment safety and safeguards requirements of general interest, summarizes data for highway

and railway shipments from 1979–2005, and lists, by State, recent highway and railway

shipment routes. This circular does not include Department of Defense and Department of

Energy spent fuel shipments.

The enclosed route information reflects specific NRC approvals that the agency has granted in

response to requests for shipments of spent fuel. This publication does not constitute authority

for carriers or other persons to use the routes to ship spent fuel, other categories of nuclear

waste, or other materials. 

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT

The information collections contained in this NUREG are covered by the requirements of 10

CFR Part 71 and 10 CFR Part 73, which were approved by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), approval numbers 3150-0008 and 3150-0002.

Public Protection Notification

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for

information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a

currently valid OMB approval number.
v

CONTENTS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

1 Introduction ........................................................... 1

2 Regulatory Requirements for Spent Fuel Shipments ........................... 1

2.1 Safety Requirements ............................................. 1

2.1.1 Packaging Standards ....................................... 1

2.1.2 Routing Requirements ...................................... 2

2.1.3 Spent Fuel Shipment Safety Record ............................ 2

2.2 Safeguards Requirements ......................................... 2

2.2.1 Route Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2.2 Notification of State Governors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2.3 Spent Fuel Shipment Safeguards Report ........................ 3

3 Descriptive Statistics for Highway and Railway 

Spent Fuel Shipments from 1979–2005 ..................................... 4

4 Route Segment Listing for Recent Highway and Railway 

Spent Fuel Shipments .................................................. 5

FIGURES

3-1 Routes Used for Spent Fuel Shipments: 1979-2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 6 

3-2 Number of Spent Fuel Shipments by Mode from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3-3 Number of Spent Fuel Shipments by Year from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3-4 Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped by Mode from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3-5 Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped by Year from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3-6 Spent Fuel Shipment Miles by Mode from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3-7 Spent Fuel Shipment Miles by Year from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3-8 Spent Fuel Shipment Kilogram-Miles by Mode from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3-9 Spent Fuel Shipment Kilogram-Miles by Year from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3-10 Number and Total Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipments by Shipment 

Quantity Range from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3-11 Number and Total Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipments by Shipment Distance 

Range from 1979–2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

TABLES

3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005 ........ 7

3-2 Summary Data for 1979–2005 Spent Fuel Shipment Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3-3 Number of Domestic and International Spent Fuel Shipments from 1979–2005 . . . . . 13

4-1 Highway and Railway Spent Fuel Shipment Routes Used from 1998–2005 . . . . . . . . 24
1

1. INTRODUCTION

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, authorizes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) to regulate the commercial nuclear industry for the purpose of protecting

public health and safety and the environment from the effects of radiation from nuclear reactors,

materials and waste facilities. We also regulate these nuclear materials and facilities to

promote the common defense and security for the United States. Included in this authority is

the regulation of certain aspects of the transportation of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel). 

Section 2 of this report explains the NRC’s role in this regard. Section 3 provides descriptive

statistics on spent fuel shipments in the commercial nuclear industry for the period of

1979–2005. Section 4 lists highway and railway segments used in each State for transporting

spent fuel in recent years (1998–2005).

2. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR SPENT FUEL SHIPMENTS

The NRC regulates spent fuel shipments in terms of both safety and safeguards. Safety

involves the protection of public health and safety during transport as well as in the event of

handling or transportation accidents, whereas safeguards relates to the protection of shipments

against deliberate, malevolent acts by persons.

2.1 Safety Requirements

The NRC and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) share Federal regulatory

responsibility for spent fuel transportation safety. In terms of safety, the NRC ensures that

spent fuel packaging meets strict regulatory design rules, approves package designs and

quality assurance programs, and conducts inspections. Title 10, Part 71, “Packing and

Transportation of Radioactive Material,” of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 71)

specifies NRC packaging requirements. The role of DOT in regulating spent fuel shipment

safety is broad and covers all aspects of actual transportation, including route selection, vehicle

condition and placarding, driver training, package marking, labeling, and other shipping

documentation, as specified in 49 CFR Parts 171–178, 356 and 397. 

2.1.1 Packaging Standards

The NRC regulations for spent fuel shipments primarily address the packaging of spent fuel to

protect public health and safety during transportation. The packaging standards that have been

established in the regulations provide that a spent fuel package (cask) shall prevent the loss or

dispersion of the radioactive contents, provide adequate shielding and heat dissipation, and

prevent nuclear criticality under both normal and accident conditions of transportation. The

regulations specify the normal conditions of transportation that must be considered in terms of

hot and cold environments, pressure differential, vibration, water spray, impact, puncture, and

compression tests. Accident conditions that must be considered are specified in terms of

impact, puncture, fire conditions, and immersion.

The NRC reviews the cask design to verify its resistance to accident conditions. The NRC must

issue a certificate before a cask fabricated from the reviewed design can be used to transport

spent fuel.

The ability of packaging to provide protection has been demonstrated by the responses of

packaging during actual traffic accidents. For example, an accident occurred on December 8,

1971, on a major highway near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In this accident, the driver of a vehicle

carrying a spent fuel cask swerved to avoid colliding with an oncoming vehicle, lost control, and

overturned off the roadway. The cask assembly was thrown into a ditch, traveling more than

100 feet before coming to rest. No release of contents or radiation occurred. The outer surface

of the cask sustained minor damage. The spent fuel cask was placed on another trailer and

taken to its destination. The cask was returned to service after inspection and repair of the

minor damage.
2

Controlled tests have also demonstrated the resistance of casks to accidents. In one test,

sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a truck bearing a cask was deliberately

placed in the path of and was struck by a 120-ton locomotive traveling about 80 miles per hour. 

In another DOE test, a cask aboard a truck moving about 80 miles per hour was deliberately

crashed into an immovable concrete structure. Subsequent examination in both these tests

confirmed that the casks would not have released any radioactive material had they been

loaded with spent fuel. Thus, both field experience and controlled tests have substantiated the

strategy of depending on packaging design for safety in transit.

Further information on spent fuel shipment safety and cask performance-oriented requirements

is available in NUREG/BR-0111, “Transporting Spent Fuel—Protection Provided Against Severe

Highway and Railroad Accidents” and NUREG/BR-0292, “Safety of Spent Fuel Transportation.” 

2.1.2 Routing Requirements

An NRC-approved route must meet DOT requirements in 49 CFR 397.101, which provide that

radioactive material shipments are to be carried over the Interstate System of highways and

available city beltways as the primary roadways. No routing rule exists for rail shipments. 

Roadways are designated as preferred highways based on their capacity for reducing transit

times. Appropriate State agencies, following prescribed criteria, may designate an alternate

route to the preferred Interstate System. Spent fuel carriers are responsible for abiding by the

routing rule when they transport spent fuel by highway.

2.1.3 Spent Fuel Shipment Safety Record

The safety record for spent fuel shipments in the United States and in other industrialized

nations is enviable. Of the thousands of shipments completed over the last 30 years, none has

resulted in an identifiable injury through the release of radioactive material.

2.2 Safeguards Requirements

In May 1979, the NRC revised its regulations in 10 CFR 73.37, “Requirements for Physical

Protection of Irradiated Reactor Fuel in Transit,” to strengthen the protection of shipments of

spent fuel against radiological sabotage. In 10 CFR 73.37(a), the regulation identifies the

material requiring physical protection as “... a quantity of irradiated fuel in excess of 100 grams

in net weight of irradiated fuel, exclusive of cladding or other structural or packaging material

which has a total external dose rate in excess of 100 rems per hour at a distance of 3 feet from

any accessible surface without intervening shielding....” The NRC subsequently revised these

regulations in May 1980, in response to public comments. The regulations require, among other

actions, NRC approval of routes for the transportation of spent fuel to ensure adequate planning

for physical protection against actual or attempted acts of radiological sabotage. Physical

protection requirements for NRC licensees who transport or deliver spent fuel to a carrier for

transport include advance notification to the NRC of shipments, procedures for handling

emergencies, establishing a communications center, contact with the communications center

every 2 hours, a written log of shipment events, arrangements with local law enforcement

agencies, avoidance of intermediate stops, surveillance of the shipment vehicle while stopped,

armed escorts in heavily populated areas, escort training, onboard communications,

immobilization devices on trucks, driver training, and notification of State governors before

making shipments. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the NRC

issued multiple safeguard advisories and security orders to enhance the security of spent fuel

transportation. The advisories recommended that licensees implement additional security

measures during shipments, including enhanced preplanning and coordination with the affected

States, enhanced control and monitoring of shipments and enhanced emergency response

procedures. The orders required specific additional security measures be implemented to

ensure enhanced security when certain conditions were met.
3

2.2.1 Route Approval

NRC licensees who transport or deliver to a carrier for transport spent fuel are required to

submit proposed routes for such shipments to the NRC for approval, from a safeguards

perspective, before the use of a given route. For highway shipments, the licensee must

propose a route that conforms with DOT routing rules. As part of an NRC security inspection,

the NRC can survey proposed routes for communication reception, location of safe havens, and

other considerations. The NRC may approve a route for a single shipment or a specified series

of shipments. Once the NRC has approved a shipment series, the route may be used for all

shipments without reapproval of the route for each shipment, provided that the NRC is notified

in advance of each shipment. The NRC approves a route for a stated period and may renew

the approval after that period. All approvals expire unless renewed. NRC approval authorizes

only spent fuel shipments and does not include other categories of nuclear waste material. 

From time to time, the NRC may authorize alternate routes or detours, as circumstances dictate

at the time of shipment. In addition, detours may be taken without prior approval, in response to

unforeseen circumstances that arise during a shipment. The NRC has provided criteria for

determining when and how such detours may be taken in published regulatory guidance

(NUREG-0561, “Physical Protection of Irradiated Spent Fuel”).

2.2.2 Notification of State Governors

The NRC requires its licensees to notify the Governor or the Governor’s designee before

transporting spent fuel within or through the State (10 CFR 73.37(f)). The notification must be

made in writing and postmarked at least 7 days before transport, if mailed, or delivered at least

4 days before transport, if sent by messenger. The notification must include the following

information:

! the name, address, and telephone number of the shipper, carrier, and receiver

! a description of the shipment, as specified by DOT

! a listing of the routes to be used within the State

! a statement that the NRC requires shipment schedule information (provided as an

enclosure) to be protected from unauthorized disclosure

The enclosure to the notification provides the following:

! the estimated date and time of departure from the point of origin of the shipment

! the estimated date and time of entry into the Governor’s State

! a statement that schedule information must be protected from unauthorized disclosure

until at least 10 days after the shipment (or 10 days after the last shipment of a series)

has entered or originated within the State

The licensee must also notify the Governor of scheduling changes that differ by more than

6 hours from the furnished schedule. Subsequent distribution of the schedule information is at

the Governor’s discretion, but NRC regulations require all persons who receive the schedule

information to protect it from unauthorized disclosure.

2.2.3 Spent Fuel Shipment Safeguards Report

Safeguards incidents for all spent fuel shipments are those that involve attempts at radiological

sabotage of spent fuel, or purposeful acts that threaten or result in significant degradation of the

safeguards system used to protect the shipment. The regulations require licensees to notify law

enforcement authorities immediately upon the occurrence or discovery of a safeguards incident
1

Because of record keeping differences the number of shipments and kilograms of spent

fuel shipped in this table will be lower than the figures in Table 3-2. 

2

The NRC staff notes that the requirements of 10 CFR 73.37 do not result in a uniform

reporting standard for the quantity of radioactive material being shipped. Licensees providing

advance notifications to the NRC use several different units to describe the quantity of

radioactive material being shipped (e.g., “pounds of hazardous material shipped,” “kilograms of

uranium,” and “kilograms of uranium-235 after irradiation”). For this report, the NRC staff

estimated the quantity of material being shipped based on the information reported in the

advance notification letter. For example, material testing reactor fuel assemblies typically weigh

4–6 kilograms (10–13 pounds) each. If the advance notification letter indicated that the

shipment consisted of 10 of these assemblies, the NRC staff estimated the total weight of spent

fuel in the shipment as 60 kilograms (approximately 130 pounds). 

4

to initiate an appropriate response. In addition, licensees must promptly report safeguards

incidents to the NRC by telephone, followed by a written report. 

3. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR HIGHWAY AND RAILWAY SPENT FUEL

SHIPMENTS FROM 1979–2005

This section provides descriptive statistics on the shipments that have occurred since the NRC

began approving spent fuel shipments in 1979, through 2005. It includes only shipments of

academic, industrial, and utility irradiated reactor fuel subject to NRC regulation. The NRC does

not regulate DOE shipments; therefore, the statistics reported here do not include them. 

Figure 3-1 is a graphic depiction of the approved spent fuel routes utilized between 1979-2005.

Most of the routes depicted in the figure have expired.

Table 3-1 depicts the number of shipments and quantity of spent fuel shipped from 1979–2005.1

Table 3-2 and Figures 3-1 through 3-9 provide more detailed spent fuel shipment information,

including routes used, mode of shipment (highway or railway) and shipment trends over time. 

Table 3-2 summarizes the spent fuel shipment data for the 1979–2005 period. For each year,

the table provides four variables that describe shipping activity by mode. The quantity (i.e.,

weight) of material being shipped is based on the shipment prenotification letters sent to the

NRC in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 73.37. 2

The NRC took the data for highway shipment miles for each route primarily from a road atlas

and rounded the annual total to the nearest hundred miles. The kilogram-miles data are derived

from shipment quantity and distance data and have been rounded to the nearest hundred

thousand.

Table 3-3 shows the pattern of highway and rail shipments throughout the period 1979–2005. 

The number of domestic highway shipments (except for 1981) rose to a high of 209 in 1984,

then declined until 1988, when the recent average of 10 highway shipments per year was

reached. Import shipments have generally declined since 1980. The annual number of export

shipments has been low (0–4) through the entire period. In addition, in 1990–1993 five

international shipments passed in transit through U.S. ports.

Figure 3-2 shows that most (83.4 percent) of the 1524 spent fuel shipments during the

1979–2005 period were completed over highways. Figure 3-3 shows that most of the shipping

activity occurred during 1980–1987, with relatively low shipping activity after 1987.

Figure 3-4 shows that the larger quantity (84.0 percent) of spent fuel was shipped by railway,

which reflects the greater capacity of rail spent fuel containers versus those for trucks. In
5

addition, a few rail shipments included multiple spent fuel containers, further increasing the rail

shipment payload. The figure indicates that 2,326,000 kilograms, or about 2,300 metric tonnes,

of spent fuel were shipped during the 1979–2005 period. Figure 3-5 shows that the greatest

quantities of spent fuel were shipped during 1984–1987 and that since then, most spent fuel

has been shipped by rail.

Figure 3-6 shows that the highway mode accounted for most (92.8 percent) of the 987,000

spent fuel shipment miles. Figure 3-7 shows that shipment mileage peaked in 1985, with a

general decline in subsequent years.

Figure 3-8 shows the cumulative movement of spent fuel, calculated by summing the product of

quantity and distance for all shipments and expressed in kilogram-miles. This unit is analogous

to “ton-miles,” a unit commonly used to measure the flow of commodities. The figure shows that

the railway mode accounted for the majority (75.8 percent) of the 673 million kilogram-miles

associated with spent fuel shipments. Figure 3-9 shows the kilogram-miles distribution by year.

Finally, Figures 3-10 and 3-11 provide an operational perspective for the spent fuel shipments. 

Figure 3-10 shows the distribution of shipments by individual shipment quantity, and the

corresponding total quantity shipped. The individual shipment quantities have been grouped

into ranges, with highway shipments most frequently falling within the 0–10 and 400–500

kilogram ranges and with most railway shipments within the 6,000–16,000 kilogram range. 

The smallest quantity range (0–10 kilograms) accounts for the largest number of highway

shipments, 540. Conversely, the 201 railway shipments that exceeded 6,000 kilograms 

comprised 79 percent of the quantity of spent fuel shipped. (All shipments less than 1400

kilograms were shipped by highway, with nine exceptions, and all shipments greater than 1400

kilograms were shipped by railway.)

Figure 3-11 shows the distribution of shipments by distance range, and the corresponding total

quantity of spent fuel shipped. For highway shipments, the number of shipments generally

decreases with shipment distance, although a significant number of shipments exceeded 900

miles. Of the 373,000 kilograms shipped by highway, 176,000 kilograms (47 percent) traveled

less than 200 miles. The number of rail shipments was somewhat uniform over the ranges, with

the 200–400 mile shipments accounting for 58 percent of the total quantity shipped by rail. 

4. ROUTE SEGMENT LISTING FOR RECENT HIGHWAY AND RAILWAY SPENT

FUEL SHIPMENTS

Table 4-1 lists highway and railway routes that have been used to transport spent fuel during

1998–2005. The table lists shipment origination and destinations, the approved route used, and

the years during which the shipment was completed. The table shows that highway spent fuel

shipments were made in or through 14 States, and that railway shipments were made in or

through two States during the period discussed. 

7

Table 3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005

State Origination Destination

No. of

Shipments 

Kg of

Spent

Fuel

Shipped

AR Arkansas One Portsmouth, VA** 1 3 

Browns Ferry GE Vallecitos, CA 1 <1 

CA GE Vallecitos Argonne National Lab, IL 5 473 

Hanford, WA 3 102 

Idaho National Lab, ID 18 71 

Richmond, CA** 3 39 

Port of Oakland, CA** 7 57 

Portland, OR** 1 1 

General Atomics Idaho National Lab, ID 3 73 

Port of Oakland* GE Vallecitos, CA 9 93 

Richmond* GE Vallecitos, CA 1 12 

San Onofre GE Morris, IL 16 6,800 

Univ of California

(Berkeley) 

Idaho National Lab, ID 3 21 

CN McMaster Univ Savannah River Site, SC 6 6 

CO Fort St. Vrain General Atomics, CA 2 10 

Idaho National Lab, ID 123 500 

CT Haddam Neck Battelle-Columbus, OH 3 1,275 

Millstone GE Vallecitos, CA 3 43 

GA E.I. Hatch Babcock & Wilcox, VA 1 20 

GE Vallecitos, CA 1 14 

Georgia Tech Savannah River Site, SC 1 4 

Port of Savannah* Savannah River Site, SC 5 65 

IA Duane Arnold GE Vallecitos, CA 3 25 

ID Idaho National Lab Portland, OR** 1 3 
Table 3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005

State Origination Destination

No. of

Shipments 

Kg of

Spent

Fuel

Shipped

8

IL Byron Station Alexandria Bay, NY** 1 11 

Dresden Station Portsmouth, VA** 1 9 

Babcock & Wilcox, VA 3 56 

GE Morris Point Beach, WI 108 48,382 

La Cross, WI 4 939 

La Salle County State Portsmouth, VA** 1 373 

Quad Cities GE Vallecitos, CA 4 56 

Battelle-Columbus, OH 1 18 

Babcock & Wilcox, VA 2 499 

Univ of Illinois Idaho National Lab, ID 1 746 

Univ of Texas at Austin, TX 1 73 

Zion Battelle-Columbus, OH 2 920 

MA MIT Savannah River Site, SC 18 534 

Univ of Mass, Lowell Savannah River Site, SC 1 194 

MD Calvert Cliffs Alexandria Bay, NY** 1 25 

Battelle-Columbus, OH 3 64 

Dundalk* Port of Oakland, CA** 1 302

GE Vallecitos, CA 3 15 

NIST Savannah River Site, SC 12 953 

MI Big Rock Point Portsmouth, VA** 2 14 

Michigan State Univ Denver Federal Center, CO 1 8 

Idaho National Lab 2 11 

Univ of Michigan Savannah River Site, SC 24 990 

MN Monticello GE Vallecitos, CA 4 55 

Battelle-Columbus, OH 2 67 

GE Morris, IL 29 195,013 
Table 3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005

State Origination Destination

No. of

Shipments 

Kg of

Spent

Fuel

Shipped

9

MO Callaway Alexandria Bay, NY** 1 14 

Univ of Missouri Idaho National Lab 15 81 

Savannah River Site, SC 61 2,036 

NC Brunswick Battelle-Columbus, OH 1 30 

Shearon Harris, NC 98 965,386 

GE Wilmington Shearon Harris, NC 2 19 

McGuire Babcock & Wilcox, VA 1 5 

Dundalk, MD** 1 13 

Southport* Savannah River Site, SC 1 22 

Sunny Point* Savannah River Site, SC 1 14 

ND Pembina* Idaho National Lab 1 3 

NE Cooper GE Morris, IL 30 194,546 

Fort Calhoun Battelle-Columbus, OH 1 1 

Veterans Admin Denver Federal Center 2 827 

NJ Hope Creek GE Vallecitos, CA 1 17 

Oyster Creek Battelle-Columbus, OH 1 33 

NY Alexandria Bay* Savannah River Site, SC 10 227 

Buffalo* Savannah River Site, SC 2 247 

Idaho National Lab 1 247

Cintichem Idaho National Lab 3 10 

Savannah River Site, SC 14 41 

Cornell University Idaho National Lab 1 497 

Erie* Savannah River Site, SC 1 6 

Fort Erie* Savannah River Site, SC 1 3 

Ginna Dundalk, MD 1 4 
Table 3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005

State Origination Destination

No. of

Shipments 

Kg of

Spent

Fuel

Shipped

10

Nuclear Fuel Service,

West Valley

Oyster Creek, NJ 33 42,950 

Dresden Station, IL 31 20,447 

Ginna, NY 73 32,300 

Point Beach, WI 114 48,450 

Battelle-Columbus, OH 8 2,977 

Ogdensburg* Savannah River Site, SC 14 35 

OH Battelle-Columbus Zion, IL 2 879 

GE Morris, IL 2 791 

Ginna, NY 5 2,632 

GE Vallecitos, CA 2 28 

Calvert Cliffs, MD 1 72 

Savannah River Site, SC 1 1 

OR Portland* Idaho National Lab 28 139 

PA Limerick Station GE Vallecitos, CA 2 44 

PA Three Mile Island GE Vallecitos, CA 1 13 

RI Rhode Island AEC Savannah River Site, SC 35 16 

SC Charleston* Savannah River Site, SC 28 29,102 

Idaho National Lab 7 4,980 

Oconee McGuire, VA 138 140,094 

Babcock & Wilcox, VA 6 972 

Buffalo, NY** 2 23 

Robinson Brunswick, NC 18 49,725 

Shearon Harris, NC 35 345,666 

GE Vallecitos, CA 1 358 

Virgil Summer* Alexandria Bay, NY** 2 35 
Table 3-1 Number of Shipments and Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped from 1979–2005

State Origination Destination

No. of

Shipments 

Kg of

Spent

Fuel

Shipped

11

VA Babcock & Wilcox GE Vallecitos, CA 2 41 

Oconee, SC 3 558 

Quad Cities, IL 2 499 

Newport News* Savannah River Site, SC 4 24 

Norfolk Intl Terminal Savannah River Site, SC 1 7 

North Anna Power

Station 

Portsmouth, VA**** 1 528 

Portsmouth* GE Vallecitos, CA 1 9 

Savannah River Site, SC 169 1,057 

Idaho National Lab 39 200 

Surry Battelle-Columbus, OH 1 20 

Univ of Virginia Savannah River Site, SC 13 15 

VT Derby Lane* Savannah River Site, SC 8 20 

* Port of Entry

** Port of Departure
12

Table 3-2 Summary Data for 1979–2005 Spent Fuel Shipment Information

Year

Number of

Shipments

Kilograms 

Spent Fuel Shipped

(Thousand)

Shipment 

Miles

 (Thousand)

Kilogram-Miles

(Million)

Highway Railway Highway Railway Highway Railway Highway Railway

1979 16 11 0.1 30.2 8.0 2.3 0.1 6.2 

1980 130 5 10.1 13.6 116 1.0 17.2 2.8 

1981 81 2 7.9 6.0 38.5 0.4 1.7 1.2 

1982 124 0 7.1 0 107 0 1.8 0 

1983 117 0 36.6 0 83.6 0 12.7 0 

1984 245 3 84.5 23.8 181 1.6 51.4 12.7 

1985 135 18 74.0 119.4 70.9 8.7 28.3 57.8 

1986 105 15 40.4 97.5 47.8 8.7 8.8 56.3 

1987 107 15 82.3 101 41.8 8.4 14.8 56.5 

1988 25 7 12.8 41.8 11.4 4.3 2.4 25.7 

1989 16 6 0.1 30.8 16.7 1.7 0.1 8.7 

1990 5 8 (0.03)* 70.5 1.5 1.6 (0.02)* 12.7 

1991 9 10 0.1 101.1 9.6 1.5 0.1 15.0 

1992 21 6 0.1 61.2 15.7 0.8 0.1 8.1 

1993 16 12 0.1 113.8 23.2 2.3 0.3 21.9 

1994 7 10 (0.02)* 84.0 6.6 2.2 (0.01)* 17.4 

1995 9 10 (0.07)* 83.7 12.6 2.2 0.1 18.4 

1996 4 9 (0.02)* 77.9 2.8 1.5 (0.01)* 13.1 

1997 9 6 (0.08)* 39.9 12.7 0.9 0.1 6.0 

1998 11 15 0.6 105.3 11.6 3.7 0.6 22.3 

1999 10 13 3.6 90.1 14.5 2.9 7.9 19.0 

2000 15 5 2.8 42.0 18.5 0.9 2.3 5.9 

2001 12 9 2.3 61.1 18.0 2.1 4.0 13.2 

2002 8 18 1.7 163.0 7.2 3.4 1.0 30.3 

2003 18 15 2.6 141.4 22.2 3.0 3.2 27.0 

2004 9 16 2.6 163.0 9.6 3.1 3.3 32.9 

2005 7 9 0.6 91.0 6.9 1.7 0.8 32.9

TOTAL 1271 253 373 1954 916 71.0 162 510

*Entries in parenthesis rounded to nearest hundredth. All others rounded to nearest tenth. 
13

Table 3-3 Number of Domestic and International Spent Fuel Shipments from 1979–2005

Year

Domestic International

Highway Railway Export Import Transient 

1979 2 11 0 14 0 

1980 73 5 2 55 0 

1981 30 2 3 48 0 

1982 80 0 1 43 0 

1983 92 0 2 23 0 

1984 209 3 2 34 0 

1985 114 18 0 21 0 

1986 88 15 0 17 0 

1987 85 15 3 19 0 

1988 10 7 0 15 0 

1989 11 6 1 4 0 

1990 0 8 3 0 2 

1991 4 10 4 0 1 

1992 20 6 0 0 1 

1993 14 12 1 0 1 

1994 6 9 1 1 0 

1995 7 9 1 2 0 

1996 3 8 0 2 0 

1997 7 4 1 3 0 

1998 11 11 0 4 0 

1999 9 9 0 6 0 

2000 10 4 0 6 0 

2001 8 6 4 2 0 

2002 6 16 2 2 0 

2003 15 14 2 2 0 

2004 7 14 0 4 0 

2005 6 7 0 3 0 
14

Highway

(83.4%)

Railway

(16.6%)

Figure 3-2 Number of Spent Fuel Shipments by Mode from 1979–2005
15

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Railway Highway

Figure 3-3 Number of Spent Fuel Shipments by Year from 1979–2005
16

Highway

(16.0%)

Railway

(84.0%)

Total Kilograms of Spent Fuel Shipped - 2,326,000

Figure 3-4 Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped by Mode from 1979–2005
17

0

50

100

150

200

250

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Railway

Highway

Figure 3-5 Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipped by Year from 1979–2005
18

Railway

(92.8%)

Highway

(7.2%)

Figure 3-6 Spent Fuel Shipment Miles by Mode from 1979–2005
19

0

40

80

120

160

200

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Railway

Highway

Figure 3-7 Spent Fuel Shipment Miles by Year from 1979–2005
20

Highway

(24.2%)

Railway

(75.8%)

Figure 3-8 Spent Fuel Shipment Kilogram-Miles by Mode from 1979–2005
21

0

20

40

60

80

100

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Railway

Highway

Figure 3-9 Spent Fuel Shipment Kilogram-Miles by Year from 1979–2005
22

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

1

110

48

384

188

540

2

152

35

168

14

2

1.4 - 2.0

1.3 -1.4

0.5 - 1.3

0.4 - 0.5

0.01 - 0.4

0 - 0.01

Total No of

Shipments

(1979-2005)

Total Quantity,

Thousands of

Kilograms 

(1979-2005)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

147

54

10

21

21

1474

358

47

57

20

7.0 - 16.0

6.0 - 7.0

3.0 - 6.0

2.0 - 3.0

0 - 1.0

Total No of

Shipments

(1979-2005)

Total Quantity,

Thousands of

Kilograms 

(1979-2005)

Figure 3-10 Number and Total Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipments

by Shipment Quantity Range from 1979–2005
23

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

263

113

119

167

45

204

4

112

244

19

19

33

23

46

8

1

49

176

900 - 3300

800 - 900

700 - 800

600 - 700

500 - 600

400 - 500

300 - 400

200 - 300

0 - 200

Total No. of

Shipments

(1979-2004)

Total Quantity,

Thousands of

Kilograms 

(1979-2005)

0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500

30

29

146

48

195

195

1183

378

600 - 700

400 - 600

200 - 400

0 - 200

Total No. of

Shipments

(1979-2004)

Total Quantity,

Thousands of

Kilograms 

(1979-2005)

Figure 3-11 Number and Total Quantity of Spent Fuel Shipments

by Shipment Distance Range from 1979–2005
24

Table 4-1 Highway and Railway Spent Fuel Shipment Routes Used from 1998–2005

Origin State Shipment

NRC

Route

Number

Transport

Mode

Shipment

Years

Alabama Browns Ferry Nuclear Station to 

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

209 Highway 2003

California GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center to

Argonne National Laboratory

190 Highway 2000,

2001

General Atomic to

Bechtel BWXT, INEEL

207 Highway 2003

Illinois La Salle County Station to

Newport News

208 Highway 2003

University of Illinois to

INEEL

214 Highway 2004

University of Illinois to

University of Texas, Austin 

213 Highway 2004

Iowa Duane Arnold Energy Center to

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

163 Highway 1998,

2002

Maryland Dundalk Marine Terminal to

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

180 Highway 2000

National Institute of Standards and

 Technology to Savannah River

Site

187 Highway 1999,

2003

Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of

Technology to Savannah River

Site

166 Highway 1998 thru

2002

University of Massachusetts, Lowell

to Savannah River Site

215 Highway 2004

Massachusetts Institute of

Technology to Savannah River

Site

217 Highway 2005

Michigan University of Michigan to

Savannah River Site

196 Highway 1999,

2000,

2003

Missouri University of Missouri, Columbia to 

Savannah River Site

182 Highway 1998 thru

2005

Nebraska Veteran Administration to

U.S. Geological Survey, Denver

Federal Center

206 Highway 2002
Table 4-1 Highway and Railway Spent Fuel Shipment Routes Used from 1998–2005

Origin State Shipment

NRC

Route

Number

Transport

Mode

Shipment

Years

25

New York Cornell University to

Bechtel BWXT, INEEL

212 Highway 2003

McMaster University to

Savannah River Site

198 Highway 2000

University of Toronto to

Savannah River Site

198 Highway 2000

University of NY, Buffalo, NY to Idaho 

 National Laboratory, Scoville, ID

216 Highway 2005

North Carolina Brunswick Nuclear Plant to

Harris Nuclear Plant

130 Railway 1998 thru

2005

Ohio Battelle West Jefferson Site to 

Savannah River Site

211 Highway 2003

Pennsylvania Limerick Generating Station to

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

197 Highway 1999,

2003

South Carolina H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant to

Harris Nuclear Plant

135 Railway 2000 thru

2004

H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant to

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center

200 Highway 2001

Charleston to

Savannah River Site

185 Railway 1999 thru

2002, 2004-

2005

Charleston to

Savannah River Site

192 Highway 2000 thru

2002,

2004

Charleston to 

Savannah River Site

201 Railway 1998 thru

2003

Charleston to 

Savannah River Site

210 Highway 2003,

2005

Charleston to 

INEEL

192 &

195

Highway 1999,

2000

Savannah River Site to

INEEL

195 Highway 2000 thru

2003

Savannah River Site to

INEEL

202 Highway 2004

Oconee Nuclear Site to

AECL Chalk River

203 Highway 2001,

2002

Virginia North Anna Power Station to

Studsvik Nuclear

204 Highway 2002