ML20248L074

PNO-78-027:on 780209,semitrailer Truck Carrying Loaded Sf Shipping Cask Buckled While Vehicle Traveling on Illinois Highway 54 Near Gibson City,Il.Cask Contained Six Spent mixed-oxide Fuel Rods from Dresden Nuclear Power Station

ML20248L074
Person / Time
Site:	Dresden
Issue date:	02/10/1978
From:	Bidinger G, Liza Cunningham NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
References
PNO-78-027, PNO-78-27, NUDOCS 9806100404
Download: ML20248L074 (1)

Text

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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION ry February 10, 1978

[&} PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE--PNO-78-27 d

This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of an event of POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The information presented is as initially received without verification or evaluation and is basically all that is known by IE staff on this date.

Facility: Commonwealth Edison Company, Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 (DN 50-10) Morris, Illinois.

Subject:

SPENT FUEL TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT IN ILLIN0IS A semi-trailer truck carrying a loaded spent fuel shipping cask buckled '

while the vehicle was traveling on Illinois Highway 54 near Gibson City, Illinois, about 7:30 p.m. , February 9,1978. The cask contained six spent mixed-oxide fuel rods from the Dresden Nuclear Power Station which were being shipped to a Babcock and Wilcox research facility in Lynchburg, Virginia for analysis.

The trailer buckled, and the cask remained on the trailer, although it shifted forward slightly. There were no injuries and no other vehicles ,

involved. . ,

me A State Radiological Assistant Team was dispatched to the site and deter-mined that there was no leakage from the cask and the radiation level was 10 millirems per hour at the surface, well withir, Department of Transportation p

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i limits. The only damage to the cask was some minor scratches. ' /:'

i There has been considerable news media coverage of the accident, includ-  ; O.

ing an erroneous report that the cask itself had split. Later reports S' corrected the misinformation.

Highway 54 was closed to traffic following the accident and remained closed through the night until the cask could be loaded onto another semitrailer rig, dispatched by the trucking company, Tri-State Trucking.

RIII received notification of this accident at 9:50 p.m., February 9, l 1978, from the DOE Radiological Assistant Officer at its Chicago Operations Office. This information is current as of 9:30 a.m. , February 10, 1978. .

Contact:

GHBidinger, IE x28188 LJCunningham, IE x28188

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Distribution: Transmitted H St 2.J O Chairman Hendrie Commissioner Bradford Commissioner Kennedy S. J. Chilk, SECY C. C. Kammerer, CA Commissioner Gilinsky (For Distribution)

Transmitted: MNBB 25 /o P B1dg M A(/ E. Vol 9 IE L. V. Gossick, EDO E. G. Case, NRR Region 1', 33 S. H. Hanauer, EDO ~

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R. Hartfield, MIPC C. V. Smith, NMSS T. J. McTiernan, OIA R. G. Ryan, OSP R. Minogue, SD H. K. Shapar, ELD 9906100404 790210 J'DR lsE_ _ HMH0M V ROTXFECATHOW