Drunk Driver Caused Accident Involving Radioactive Cargo, Police Say

More about the truck accident in WV. The uranium hexfluoride being carried by the tractor trailer could have caused serious damage had the tank been breached. The emphasis on the description of U hexfluoride is mine; the link to the Argonne National Laboratory is in the original article.

August 2, 2009

SUMMERS COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The entire Town of Sandstone and surrounding areas were evacuated after a tractor trailer carrying radioactive material caught fire, but tests have confirmed that there is no danger.

It happened at midnight Sunday morning on I-64 at the 139 mile marker, which is near the Sandstone exit in Summers County.

A news release from the West Virginia State Police says the driver of a pickup truck headed west on I-64 was drunk when he ran off the road and struck a guardrail, causing his truck to roll over through the median, landing in the shoulder of the east bound lanes. The driver of the tractor trailer was headed east and locked up his brakes to avoid the debris from the pickup truck that was left in the road. The tractor trailer then veered to the right and hit a rock embankment, overturned and caught fire.

The tractor trailer was carrying a corrosive material that has been determined to be radioactive.

Just before 3:30 a.m., HAZMAT crews reached the scene and determined that the container holding the material was not damaged and none of the material leaked. The crews also tested the air around the wreck and found no contamination.

A 911 dispatcher says the evacuation of the town was a precaution at the time, and residents are now allowed to return to their homes.

Cpl. Z.M. Duke with the Hinton Detachment of the West Virginia State Police tells WSAZ.com that the chemical inside the truck was Uranium hexafluoride. He says it was a large container holding 32,000 pounds of the material. The truck was headed to Portsmouth, Virginia, for export. It was not known from where the truck was coming.

According to a Web site run by the Argonne National Laboratory, Uranium hexfluoride (UF6) is the chemical form of uranium that is used during the uranium enrichment process.

Here is information from the Web site about how the chemical reacts with air and water:

Uranium hexafluoride does not react with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or dry air, but it does react with water or water vapor. For this reason, UF6 is always handled in leak tight containers and processing equipment. When UF6 comes into contact with water, such as water vapor in the air, the UF6 and water react, forming corrosive hydrogen fluoride (HF) and a uranium-fluoride compound called uranyl fluoride (UO2F2).

Here are the health dangers of UF6, according to the same site:

In addition, if UF6 is released to the atmosphere, the uranium compounds and HF that are formed by reaction with moisture in the air can be chemically toxic. Uranium is a heavy metal that, in addition to being radioactive, can have toxic chemical effects (primarily on the kidneys) if it enters the bloodstream by means of ingestion or inhalation. HF is an extremely corrosive gas that can damage the lungs and cause death if inhaled at high enough concentrations.

Duke says about 100 people left their homes and went to Summers County Middle School during the precautionary evacuation period, and that process went relatively smoothly.

The truck driver was not seriously hurt. He was taken to the hospital and later and returned to the scene, according to the 911 dispatcher. The driver of the pickup truck was also not seriously hurt, but was cited for driving under the influence. No names have been released yet.

I-64 east was shut down in the area most of the day Sunday, but was re-opened at about 6:54 p.m. I-64 west and Route 20 in the area of the accident were also closed for hours, but were re-open earlier in the day.

Emergency crews from Raleigh and Kanawha counties responded to assist with the situation.

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/52277727.html

Surviving family: Penalties don't deter unsafe workplaces

By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFEER
Star-Tribune energy reporter

Sunday, April 26, 2009 2:06 AM MDT

Philip L. Robidoux's last stop was at the top of a ridge at the Smith Ranch uranium mine near Douglas to pick up his lunch pail in September 1999. From there, he aimed the '78 Mack Super Liner with tanker, loaded with water, on the dirt road and followed it down the ridge toward the well field.

"The drill crew noticed that the truck was not slowing down as it should in order to make the turn into the well field," according to a federal Mine Safety and Health Administration report.

The truck left the road, bounced through a stormwater ditch and came to a sudden stop in a gully. The truck frame snapped, folding the truck and smashing the cab, killing the 37-year-old Robidoux.

MSHA concluded that Pronghorn Drilling Co. had failed to maintain the truck in safe operating condition. There were no front brakes, and "All the brake drums were oversize and severely scored, resulting in compromised braking force at all four brakes," according to the report.

For Robidoux's family, the accident revealed that the penalty doesn't meet the degree of negligence when it comes to workplace fatalities in Wyoming.

"He wasn't just a brother. He was my best friend," said Robidoux's sister, Renee Treloar.

Contacted by the Star-Tribune, former owners of Pronghorn Drilling declined to comment. Pronghorn faced several MSHA citations and significant financial penalties as a result of the accident, but the company maintained its innocence.

Pronghorn eventually won a court ruling that MSHA didn't have jurisdiction in the matter because in-situ uranium mining is more like an oil and gas operation than a traditional mine. MSHA's findings in the case were not reversed, but by the time the case was transferred to the Wyoming Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Pronghorn had gone out of business.

Treloar said she and her family lost Philip, and the only result was a few thousand dollars paid by the Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division for his burial costs.

"If they are grossly negligent, they need to be held accountable. Right now, there is no incentive to be safe," Treloar said.

On the civil rights side, an employee's right to sue was taken away in exchange for no-fault coverage under the state's workers compensation program. Regardless of who is at fault for an accident, workers compensation covers medical costs and lost wages for on-the-job injuries, and burial and death benefits in fatalities.

When it comes to safety violations and imposing penalties, it usually falls to MSHA for mining operations and OSHA for most other workplaces.

OSHA-imposed penalties related to recent oil and gas industry fatalities range from as little as nothing, to $100, to $19,250, according to OSHA records. Often, a company ends up paying a couple thousand dollars for safety violations that have resulted in a fatality.

Regulatory officials explain that monetary penalties are not set with retribution in mind. The same penalty can be assessed for a safety violation that does not result in an injury or death.

It's an effective regulatory scheme for the majority of employers who already understand that safe workplaces help their bottom line and are in everyone's best interest. But for those determined to cut corners, the savings may seem to outweigh the risk, according to Treloar.

She said she worries that without the prospect of hefty financial penalties, some companies might be tempted to gamble with safety, particularly in this down economy.

"There's just no motivation for them to be safe if they don't want to be," Treloar said.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com.

All emphases mine...SB

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2009/04/27/news/wyoming/73600d7a62090f55872575a300212694.txt

North Anna Nuclear Reactor: 2 Stories

North Anna nuclear reactor reaches full power again

Published: April 6, 2009

After being taken down for refueling, a nuclear reactor at Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna power plant in Louisa County has again reached 100 percent of generating capacity.

Figures provided by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this morning showed that North Anna's Unit 1 is back at full power following a restart procedure that began late last week.

Unit 1 was shut down March 7 for its regular 18-month refueling, a process that included replacing one-third of its fuel, conducting a 10-year inspection of the reactor vessel, inspecting and cleaning steam generators inside the containment building and replacing one of the unit's two low-pressure turbines.

North Anna's Unit 2 operated at 100 percent of capacity throughout the Unit 1 shutdown.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/ANNAGAT06_20090406-072005/249818/

Tractor Trailer Catches on Fire in Louisa

April 6, 2009 11:52 PM

courtesy of Independent News

Part of Cross County Road (Route 522) in Louisa County was closed for more than two hours Monday morning after a tractor trailer caught on fire. The truck was carrying a load of materials containing nuclear substances from the North Anna Power Station to the Surrey plant.

North Anna Power Plant technicians inspected the material containers and determined all the content was secured. The cab of the tractor trailer, however, was destroyed in the blaze. The driver was not injured.

Another tractor was used to carry the materials to Surrey.

http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=10139707

Tales From The Road: Tractor Trailer Accidents

The article that includes the incident described below doesn't give the date of the accident; the article was published on February 15, 2009. Whatever the date, the incident sounds more than a little scary to me. ...SB

North Carolina authorities had their hands full, when a tractor trailer carrying about 6,600 pounds of low-grade powdered uranium overturned. A husband and his wife were driving the rig, traveling from Virginia to the Global Nuclear Facility. The tractor trailer accident occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle and overturned near the interstate 40/95 interchange. Luckily the threat level was low due to the uranium being packed securely in steel and the packaging had not been breached. Crews carefully loaded the containers into a different truck and both people in the tractor trailer accident suffered only minor injuries.

http://www.tractortalk.net/tales-from-the-road-tractor-trailer-accidents.html