(351.3492) WISE Stockholm - Uranium hexafluoride, commonly referred to as "hex", is a chemical form of uranium used in the production of fuel for the vast majority of commercial nuclear power plants, as well as in the production of virtually all nuclear weapons and uranium metal ammunition.
The 200-page document, including an extensive bibliography, provides information about UF6 needed by government agencies, the nuclear industry, and public interest groups. The information is presented in a manner that combines technical, quantitative data together with social and political analysis. Four major aspects are analyzed:
- UF6 in the nuclear industry: the context of its use and production, inter-national production statistics, why it is part of the Nuclear Fuel chain, the main categories of UF6 according to U-235 content, and civil-military connections.
- Physical and chemical properties of UF6: general properties; its relative chemical toxicity and radiotoxicity, as well as each of the chemical and radio-logical hazards; and some aspects of the health effects of radiation, particularly the ability of alpha radiation to penetrate human skin.
- UF6 cylinders: specifications, drop tests, fire tests, the problems of weak valves and stiffening ring defects, some considerations in air and ship transport, and IAEA regulations.
- UF6 accidents: practical emergency response in the event of an accident and a list of accidents that have taken place at processing facilities with indepth reports on three of them: the cylinder explosion at the Gore, Oklahoma conversion plant in January 1986; the sinking of the Mont-Louis in August 1984; and the cylinder explosion at the Comurhex conversion plant in France in July 1977.
The major conclusion is that the transportation of UF6 is dangerous, both because of what it is -- a hazardous chemical and radioactive substance -- and what it is a part of -- the production process for nuclear reactor fuel, nuclear bombs, and uranium ammunition. It is documented that a release of UF6 in a populated area could have catastrophic consequences. Cylinders used to transport UF6 can leak or explode under common accident conditions. Release of only a tiny portion of a typical UF6 transport cylinder will result in quantities of uranium and hydrofluoric acid (HF) in the immediate vicinity, far exceeding levels dangerous to health (both chemically and radiologically).
Despite the danger, the dominant belief within governments and the nuclear industry is that UF6 transport is safe. This belief, regrettably, is based mainly on two assumptions, shown to be false. These assumptions are that UF6 does not present a significant radioactive hazard, and cylinders used to transport UF6 are built strong enough to survive accident conditions. It is noted, however, that deciding whether or not the transportation of UF6 is dangerous involves qualitative moral and ethical decisions as well as analysis of quantitative, technical data.
Contact: "The Hex Connection: Some Problems and Hazards Associated with the Transportation of Uranium Hexafluoride", by Miles Goldstick, Ph.D dissertation (ISBN: 91-576-4440-3), April 1991, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environmental Research, Uppsala, Sweden is available from the author at this address: Box 1633, S-742 91 Osthammar, Sweden, tel: 46-173- 70271.
Price: broke activists and environmental groups, 72 SKR (US $12); all others, 298 SKR ($49.70); prices include airmail postage. Advance payment only. No checks please. Postgiro: 423 1102-7. Bank Account 1813-33-934- 69: Nordbanken 1813, Box 1, S-742 21 Osthammar, Sweden, tel: 46-173-11100; fax: 46-173-11004.
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