DOE suspends radioactive shipments through Arizona

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Oct 6 (The Associated Press)

The U.S. Department of Energy suspended shipping radioactive material through Arizona after a truck leaked packing material last month, Gov. Janet Napolitano said.

In a letter to Napolitano, Environmental management secretary Paul Golan said the department halted uranium loads safety improvements, Napolitano said. No date for resuming the shipments was offered.

"The letter is a good, strong response to our concerns," Napolitano said. "The Department of Energy said that it should have never happened."

Napolitano asked the DOE for an investigation and safety assurances after a leak was found on a truck hauling radioactive material across Arizona on Aug. 15.

The incident forced the closure of westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in northern Arizona for about 45 minutes until safety personnel determined the leaking substance was packing material, and not the shipment of uranium tetraflouride being trucked to Nevada.

DOE reduced payments to the contracted carrier by $450,000 for the violation, Golan said in the letter.

Other trucks traveling from Oak Ridge, Tenn., to the Nevada Test Site also have been found leaking the same packing material, Napolitano has said.

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On the Net:

Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov

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Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, http://www.azdailysun.com/