Most shipments consist of medical and industrial products.
Other shipments include nuclear power plant fuel, nuclear weapons and weapons material, and radioactive waste generated by hospitals, laboratories, nuclear reactors, and military' facilities. Because of the sheer number of radioactive material shipments, transportation accidents are the most common type of incident involving radioactive materials. Despite their frequency, there have been no known serious nuclear radiation exposures resulting from transportation accidents. This is due largely to the nature of the radioactive materials transported and the use of protective packaging commensurate with the degree of potential hazard of the radioactive material contained. The transport of radioactive materials makes Polk County susceptible to accidents involving radioactive materials.