RADIOACTIVE WASTE TRANSPORTERS PRAISED FOR SAFETY RECORD

RADIOACTIVE WASTE TRANSPORTERS PRAISED FOR SAFETY RECORD    A two-year study conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance found that over-land transportation of radioactive waste shipments in the United States has an “outstanding” safety record.
   The study considered inspections of radioactive waste shipments destined to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M. These shipments were part of a cleanup of discarded radioactive materials generated from nuclear weapons production, research and development since 1940.
   CAST Transportation, based in Henderson, Colo., transported 123 shipments and Tri State Motor Transit of Joplin, Mo., transported one shipment.
   The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said state enforcement officers conducted 313 inspections on 124 truck shipments. The inspections were conducted at the point of origin and at destination. “No violations were found in 299 of the 313 inspections,” the alliance said.
   No drivers were found in violation of federal and state safety regulations during the inspections. “In comparison with a nationwide inspection period conducted last June on general commodity trucks, 26 percent of the vehicles were placed out of service because of violations and 5 percent of the drivers were placed out of service,” the alliance said.
   '”The Department of Energy and its contract carriers can take pride in this record,” said Steve Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “It goes a long way in assuring the public that the Department’s shipments of radioactive materials are carried out in the safest manner possible.”
   The alliance is a leading commercial vehicle safety enforcement organization in North America. Its members include enforcement and transportation officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States, and representatives from the trucking industry.