Читать книгу Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents - Jean-Claude Amiard - Страница 53

Prior to the 1970s, some accidents during the transport of radioactive materials by sea, air, rail and especially road led to local contamination of various aquatic environments [EIS 73].

In France, approximately 96% of radioactive substance packages are exclusively transported by road and the rest by a combination of several modes of transport (3% by road and air, 1% by road, sea and rail). Rail transport is mainly used by the nuclear industry. In 2014 and 2015, 139 and 122 events, respectively, were reported to the French Nuclear Safety Authority, corresponding to approximately one reported event for every 7,500 packages transported.

To date, in France, there is an average of one to two transport accidents per year, resulting in a release of radioactivity into the environment. These events have had limited consequences on human health and the environment, as most of them are ranked 1 on the INES. In the most serious cases in France, classified 3 on the INES, low levels of contamination were detected and could be treated by specific decontamination operations [IRS 16b]. The IRSN regularly identifies the various incidents affecting the transport of radioactive packages [IRS 11a, IRS13a, IRS13b]. Thus, the IRSN [IRS 16b] lists 16 significant transport incidents from 1983 to 2007, but with no consequences for the environment or health impacts.

Incidents of level 3 on the INES concerning parcels are few and far between. In France, only one case was noted in December 2001 when Federal Express transported an incoming package with a dose rate above the regulatory limit between Sweden and the United States via Roissy airport. This incident was classified by the Swedish Competent Authority as a level 3 incident. Similarly, in 2004, the dose rate measured in New Orleans (United States) on a package from Sweden containing sources of iridium 192 was too high.

Following a collision with the car ferry Olau Britannia 10 nautical miles from the Belgian coast, the cargo ship Mont-Louis sank in the North Sea 10.5 nautical miles north of the port of Ostend on Saturday, August 25, 1984 at around 7 p.m. This cargo carried 350 tons of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in 30 48-Y containers. The uranium 235 content varied from 0.67% to 0.88% depending on the batch. In addition, two batches contained recycled uranium in varying proportions. The recovery of the 30 containers began on September 1 and ended on October 4, 1984. Only one small leakage was found on a single container, so the Mont-Louis maritime accident had no radiological or chemical consequences [AUG 85].