Tons of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) held in a railcar that caught fire earlier this month in Illinois will continue on toward final disposal in Texas, officials said this week.
“The contents of the railcars are being repackaged into intermodals for removal from site,” under watch by the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) spokeswoman Rebecca Clark.
The status of that operation was not immediately available at deadline Thursday for RadWaste Monitor. The damaged railcar remains at the site of the incident pending determination by the state that it can resume transport, Clark said.
The LLRW encompassed un-irradiated zirconium fuel cladding and additional waste material, according to IEMA. It consisted of nearly 138,000 pounds of dry-activity waste and metal debris such as tubes and motors, specifically designated as low-specific activity waste, generated by recycling operations by Veolia subsidiary Alaron Nuclear Services in Pennsylvania. It was being shipped by train to Waste Control Specialists’LLRW disposal complex in Andrews County, Texas.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 12 posted a report from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency regarding the June 4 fire while the railcar was at the Belt Railway Co. train switching facility in Bedford Park, about 20 miles outside of Chicago.
Roughly 10% of the railcar burned in the early morning blaze, but there was no apparent release of radioactive contaminants, according to the state agency. The fire burned itself out after a few hours.
“The Illinois Emergency Management Agency reviewed Alaron Nuclear’s emergency action and remediation plan, and will continue to monitor radiological impacts to personnel and the environment during and after the incident,” Clark said by email Wednesday. “At this time, there are no expected radiological dose consequences to the general public as a result of the fire.”
The cause of the fire is believed to be a reaction between pyrophoric zirconium dust generated by friction during transport and nearby contaminated building debris and other “combustible waste,” the state report says.
A source familiar with the incident said the fire appears to have been precipitated by “humping’ of the railcar at the Belt Railway facility, even though the car had been marked specifically not to undergo that process. In railway terminology, humping involves rolling a railcar down a small hill at a switching facility to place it on a new track.
The fire did not reach a second railcar carrying low-level waste from Alaron. First responders detached and separated the two railcars.
“The railcar contents mentioned in the report are being transloaded and repackaged at the railyard; the other LLW shipment is unaffected,” an Alaron spokesperson said by email on June 12. Contacted this week, the spokesperson said he believed that process was continuing.
Illinois is an agreement state to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meaning it assumes much of the regulatory authority over management of byproduct materials within its borders. The NRC referred questions about the incident to the state.
The Federal Railroad Administration will investigate the cause of the fire, according to Clark. The agency declined to comment Thursday except to confirm the investigation.
Alaron, based in Wampum, Pa., provides nuclear services including decontamination, waste management, storage and special projects. It is owned by the North America branch of Veolia, the France-based waste and water management specialist.
