Washington, D.C., May 16–17, 2003

• NRC’s Transportation Program, E. William Bach, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)

• Transportation of Radioactive Waste, Jeffrey Williams, Department of Energy (DOE), Office of National Transportation

• U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Role in Transportation of Radioactive Waste, Richard Boyle, DOT

• NAS Used Fuel Transportation Study: Remarks from EPRI, John H. Kessler, EPRI

Las Vegas, Nevada, July 24–26, 2003

• State of Nevada Perspectives on Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High-Level Radioactive Waste Transportation Issues, Robert Loux, Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects

• Yucca Mountain Transportation Access Issues, Robert Halstead, Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects

• Yucca Mountain Transportation Risk and Impact Issues, Robert Halstead, Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects

• Full-scale Testing of Shipping Casks, Jim Hall, Hall and Associates

• Baltimore Tunnel Fire: Implications for SNF Transportation Safety, Marvin Resnikoff, Radioactive Waste Management Associates

• Security, Safeguards, and Implications for Emergency Management, James Ballard, California State University, Northridge

• Plans for Developing a National Transportation Plan, Jeffrey Williams, DOE, Office of National Transportation

• Baltimore Tunnel Fire Study and Sandia Vulnerability Studies, Jack Guttmann, USNRC

• Yucca Mountain Impacts, Irene Navis, Clark County Nuclear Waste Division

• Under the Draining End of the Transportation Funnel, Abby Johnson, Eureka County

• Lincoln County and Town of Caliente Perspectives on Spent Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Transportation Issues, Kevin Phillips, City of Caliente

• Nye County’s Views on Nuclear Waste Transportation, Les Bradshaw, Nye County Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities

• Perspectives of other Nevada-based Organizations:

  • Kalynda Tilges, Shundahai Network

  • Judy Treichel, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force

  • Peggy Maze, Citizen Alert

Denver, Colorado, October 29–31, 2003

• Technical Aspects of DOE’s Transportation Operations, Robin Sweeney, DOE, Office of National Transportation

• NRC’s Role in Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Earl Easton, USNRC

• Transportation of Radioactive Waste by Highway, James Simmons, USDOT, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

• Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) High-Level Radioactive Materials Program, Kevin Blackwell, USDOT, FRA

• Research and Special Programs Administration, Richard Boyle, DOT

• Western States and NWPA (Nuclear Waste Policy Act) Shipments, Doug Larson, Western Interstate Energy Board

• A State Perspective Regarding Transportation of High-Level Radioactive Waste, Bill Sinclair, Utah Department of Environmental Quality

• Transportation of Radioactive Waste Through the Western States, Bill Mackie, Western Governor’s Association

• Used Nuclear Fuel Transportation Responsibilities and Operations, John Vincent (deceased), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)

• Trucking Companies Operations Issues, David Bennett, Tri-State Motor Transit

• Rail Perspective on Transportation of SNF, Sandy Covi, Union Pacific Railroad

Chicago, Illinois, February 2–4, 2004

• Federal Role in Responding to Emergencies, Eric Tolbert, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• Department of Energy Role for Emergency Response in the Yucca Mountain Transportation Program, Jozette Booth, DOE

• Corridor States Perspectives in Planning for Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments, Thor Strong, Michigan Low-Level Radioactive Waste Authority

• Midwestern State’s Views on Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning, Tim Runyon, Illinois Emergency Management Agency

• Local Roles for Planning, Training, Response, and Intergovernmental Coordination:

  • Perspectives of a Large City, Chief Gene Ryan, City of Chicago

  • Perspectives of a Small City/County, Ned Wright, Linn County, Iowa, Emergency Management

  • Perspectives of Private Industry, Patrick Brady, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

  • Training Issues, Chief Gordon Vermeer, Argonne National Laboratory and International Association of Fire Chiefs

• Risk Perception, Risk Communication, and Public Response to Emergencies: What Really Happens?

  • Dennis Mileti, University of Colorado

  • Michael Lindell, Texas A&M University

Washington, D.C., May 5–7, 2004

• Used Nuclear Fuel Transportation: Prior Experience Is Valid, Stephen P. Kraft, NEI

• Regulator Perspective on Transportation Safety, E. William Brach, USNRC

• Irradiated Fuel Transport to Yucca Mountain: What History Tells Us, Michele Boyd, Public Citizen

• SNF Cask Crash Tests: What Can They Tell Us About the Safety of the Current Fleet of SNF Shipping Casks? Douglas Ammerman, Sandia National Laboratories

• Reexamination of Spent Fuel Shipment Risk Estimates, Douglas Ammerman, Sandia National Laboratories

• Transportation Infrastructure Acquisition Update, Ned Larson, DOE, Office of National Transportation

• SNF Transportation Cask Certification Requirements, Earl Easton, USNRC

• Update on the USNRC Package Performance Study, Mike Mayfield, USNRC

• Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, Barry Miles, DOE, Naval Reactors

• Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Experience, Steven Edwards, Progress Energy

• AAR Perspective on the Dedicated Trains and Other Issues, Bob Fronczak, Association of American Railroads (AAR)

• Regional Perspectives on Radioactive Materials Transportation, Christopher Wells, Southern States Energy Board

• Northeast Council of State Governments’ Perspectives on SNF Transportation, Edward L. Wilds, Council of State Governments Northeast High-Level Radioactive Waste Transportation Task Force

Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 21–23, 2004

• An Overview of Stigma and Potential Socioeconomic Impacts, James Flynn, Decision Research

• Stigma Studies on Nevada and Yucca Mountain, Bob O’Connor, National Science Foundation

• Environmental Justice Impacts, Veronica Eady, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

• Information and Involvement for Transportation of Nuclear Waste, Christina Drew, University of Washington

• Stakeholder Involvement Strategies for Highly Technical and Controversial Issues, Janesse Brewer, The Keystone Center

• Key Problem Issues in Risk Communication, James Flynn, Decision Research

• Planning, Decision Making, and Monitoring, Veronica Eady, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

• Planning, Decision Making, and Monitoring, Mervyn Tano, International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management

• Social Diversity in Framing Risk Problems: Implications for Risk Management and Communication Regarding the Transportation of Radioactive Waste, Elaine Vaughan, University of California, Irvine

• Office of National Transportation Update, Gary Lanthrum, DOE, Office of National Transportation

• Assessing the Role of Time in Public Perceptions of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Amy Goodin, University of New Mexico

• WIPP Transportation Information Issues, Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center

• Collaboration Among States and Agencies in the WIPP Transportation Safety Program, Anne deLain Clark, New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department

• State Emergency Management Perspective on Lessons Learned from Coordinating with Other Stakeholders and Communicating with the Public, W. Scott Field, New Mexico Office of Emergency Management

• Native American Perspective on Lessons Learned from Coordinating with Other Stakeholders and Communicating with the Public, Sue Loudner, WIPP Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program

• Federal Perspective on Lessons Learned from Coordinating with Other Stakeholders and Communicating with the Public, Paul Detwiler, DOE, Carlsbad Field Office

• Federal Perspective on Involving the Public in Radioactive Materials Transportation Programs, Judith Holm, DOE, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management

Washington, D.C., May 26, 2005

• Research Reactor Spent Fuel Routing Study: Scope and Origin, Richard Boyle, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, DOT

• Background: History, Scope, and Purpose of Foreign, University, and DOE Research Reactor Spent Fuel Programs, Alex Thrower DOE, Office of Environmental Management

• Department of Transportation Regulations, Michael Conroy, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, DOT; Ryan Paquet, DOT, FMCSA

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulations, Philip Brochman, Division of Nuclear Security, USNRC

• DOE Foreign Research Reactor Spent Fuel Acceptance Program, Alex Thrower, DOE; James Wade, Idaho National Laboratory, DOE; Charles E. Messick, DOE Nuclear Material Programs Division, Savannah River Site, Aiken, S.C.

• Domestic University and DOE Research Reactors, James Wade, DOE; Christopher Becker, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

• Collaboration of States with DOE and Licensees on Routing, Chris Wells, Southern States Energy Board; Lisa Sattler, Council of State Governments—Midwest Office, Lombard, Ill.

Committee Subgroup Visit to Europe (September 2004)

Committee members Dennis Bley, Hank Jenkins-Smith, Mel Kanninen, John Poston, Seth Tuler, Detlof von Winterfeldt, and Clive Young and committee staff Kevin Crowley and Joe Morris participated in all or portions of this visit. Because it involved substantially less than half of the committee, this was not an official information-gathering meeting.

September 24 (Berlin and Environs, Germany)

• Briefing on the AREVA spent fuel transportation program, including transportation operations and communications with the public. Host: Vincent Roland, AREVA

• Tour of the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) facility near Horstwalde and attendance at the cask-drop test. Host: Thomas Böllinghaus, BAM

September 27: BNFL Sellafield Site (Seascale, Cumbria, UK, and London)

• Overview of British Nuclear Fuel Limited (BNFL) and the Sellafield Site. Briefers: Colin Boardman, Ben Children, Bob Quinn, and Stephen Stagg, BNFL

• BNFL transportation capabilities, Mark Robinson, BNFL

• Tour of the transportation cask maintenance facility and spent fuel receipt and storage areas of the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant

• Lunch meeting with local government and emergency planning organizations to discuss transportation issues: David Cook (Chairman, Emergency Planning Subcommittee), David Humphreys (Cumbria County Council Emergency Planning Agency), and Mat Fox (Senior Emergency Response Manager, BNFL)

September 28: Visit to Direct Rail Service (DRS) Headquarters in Carlisle, Cumbria

• Presentation and discussion of DRS’s UK rail activities, Chris Connelly, General Manager, Commercial and Business Services, DRS

• Tour of DRS Carlisle facilities

• Dinner meeting to discuss BNFL transportation program with London area stakeholders: Roger Evans (London Assembly); Linda Hayes (Cricklewood Against Nuclear Trains); Steve Robinson (Environment Business Management); Patrick van den Bulck (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). Dinner hosted by Rupert Wilcox-Baker, Head of Communications, Spent Fuel Services, BNFL

September 29: London and Environs

• Field trip to a BNFL rail head to observe transportation operations.