And all kinds of new radioactive nuclei have been created, like cesium and strontium, even some gases like xenon and krypton. He says the spent fuel is a million times more radioactive than low-level waste. And he cites a 1979 federal study that, if only one percent of the contents of that were to escape in an urban area, it could cause thousands of latent cancer fatalities. But the undaunted shipper of the spent research fuel is pressing the issue, and it will no doubt end up in court. The U.S. Department of Transportation is about to rule on the case administratively, but the states are holding firm.
Any court action is still a long way off.
Meanwhile, the trains roll on, with only a few state and local officials aware of the possible dangers on the rails. That was clearly a case of human error. People's consciousness gets raised about a rail event, and all of a sudden a lot of attention is paid to something that doesn't deserve the attention. Naturally, all hell is breaking loose on the highways, and nothing's been done about the highways. He may have a point.