PNTL, Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, maritime safety standards pioneer

PNTL: Pioneering Maritime Safety Standards, mox shipments safety, international environmental acreditation, double hull configuration, bnfl, cogema, british nuclear fuels limited, pacific sandpiper, pacific crane,

Home : Safety : What Experts Are Saying

What Experts Are Saying

INSIDE PNTL SAFETY

	PNTL Safety Safety In Depth Contingency Procedures Regulations Packages Security Technical Papers What Experts are Saying

What experts are saying

“Since the probabilities of severe ship collisions and severe ship fires are small and the individual radiation doses that might result should such a collision or fire occur are smaller than background doses, the risk of maritime transport in Type B packages of highly radioactive material such as irradiated [used] nuclear fuel, vitrified high level waste and plutonium are very small.”

“Severity, probability and risk of accidents during maritime transport of radioactive material (PDF)
IAEA

“There has never been an instance of any problems with such vessels (carrying nuclear materials). These vessels have been inspected a number of times by PCC personnel to verify compliance with our regulations ...The vessels whose cargo present the highest risk to the Panama Canal are ... bulk carriers, such as LPG and gasoline tankers, and those with over 5 tons of ...(explosives) aboard.”

Captain Dean Harder and Dr. Freddy Chen
Panama Canal Commission
1996

“The risk to New Zealand and New Zealanders from the passage of a ship carrying
radioactive waste or plutonium through the Tasman Sea is negligible. It is as close to zero as any reasonably informed person could demand.”

Professor Alan Poletti,
Physics Department, Auckland University,
January 1997

“The marine transport of spent fuel, recycled plutonium and high level waste is being undertaken in a straight forward, reasonable way ... it would be hard to think up a better regulatory structure than the one that exists.”

Professor K.B. Cady,
Cornell University,
September 1996

“So the upshot is that an accident of any kind is unlikely to happen...and the environmental damage done by any conceivable accident would be thousands of times less than that done by a single oil spill.”

Professor H.W. Lewis,
Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of California,
Former Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Risk Assessment Review Group,
Member of the President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee,
August 1997

“All the available information demonstrates very low levels of radiological risk and
environmental consequences from the marine transport of radioactive material ...
It was the unanimous conclusion of the Member States that there was no
information or data ... that would cast doubt on the adequacy of the IAEA Regulations.”

Conclusion from the joint working group of three United Nations bodies,
International Atomic Energy Agency,
International Maritime Organisation,
United Nations Environment Program,
April 1993

^ Back to Top



		Home : About PNTL : Our Fleet : Safety : News & Info : Contact Us : Newsletter
		Technical Papers : Business Enquiries : PNTL Ship Tour : FAQ : Sitemap : Links

		© 2005, Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited. All rights reserved.