This report examines the capabilities of existing commercial nuclear fuel fabrication facilities to convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}) to uranium oxide (UO{sub 2}). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) needs this information to determine whether using such capacity to convert DOE's inventory of depleted UF{sub 6} to a more stable form is a reasonable alternative that should be considered in the site-specific environmental impact statement for construction and operation of depleted UF{sub 6} conversion facilities. Publicly available information sources were consulted to ascertain the information summarized in this report. For domestic facilities, the information summarized includes currently operating capacity to convert depleted UF{sub 6} to UO{sub 2}; transportation distances from depleted UF{sub 6} storage locations near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky, to the facilities; and regulatory requirements applicable to nuclear fuel fabrication and transportation of depleted UF{sub 6}. The report concludes that the total currently operating capability of U.S. commercial nuclear fuel fabricators to convert UF{sub 6} to UO{sub 2} is approximately 5,200 metric tons of UF{sub 6} per annum (tUF{sub 6}/a). This total includes 666 tUF{sub 6}/a scheduled for shutdown by the end of 2001. However, only about 300 tUF{sub 6}/a of this capacity could …

This report details a quantitative risk assessment conducted for transportation of selected hazardous materials on a national basis. These materials include six toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) chemicals, which account for more than 90% of the total TIH transportation-related risk; liquefied petroleum gas; gasoline; and explosives. For TIH materials, both highway and rail transportation are considered, and two classes of incidents are examined--those that occur (1) during a traffic accident or a train derailment and (2) while en route from the origin to the destination, but not during an accident or derailment. For the other materials evaluated in the study, only accident-related incidents for highway transportation are considered because transportation-related risk for these materials is dominated by highway incidents. The report describes the hazardous materials and consequence levels evaluated; the risk assessment methodology; the databases used to determine hazardous materials commodity flow and incident rates; and results of the study, including quantitative risk distributions and risk measures for the materials evaluated. The results suggest that, compared with other types of transportation risks encountered by the public, overall societal risks due to hazardous materials transportation remain relatively low. However, the potential exists for very serious accidents involving large numbers of injuries and fatalities, especially …