Truck carrying 6000 lbs of Uranium overturns in NC

www.foxnews.com ^ | 12/21/06 | Fox News

[cowtowney]

Truck carrying 6000 lbs of Uranium overturns in NC - No thread yet

[lesser_satan]

Isn't UF6 highly corrosive?

[posterchild]

Isn't Uranium Hexafluoride a gas at STP?

[REDWOOD99]

Obama or Osama? Omama!

[NicknamedBob]

Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said the truck was carrying Type A radioactive material.

"There's no threat to the public," Clendenin said. "It's a low grade uranium."

[knarf]

Thanx for the data ... but what's it used for?

Would this be incoming or outgoing?

[Repeal The 17th]

"...No thread yet ..."
Then ... what is this?

[golas1964]

Damn you Lex Luthor!

"Miss Tessmuckerrrr?!!!"

[SunTzuWu]

I don't know the answers to those two questions, but I do live here in Wilmington, I've toured the facility and watched them make nuclear fuel pellets for reactors. The TSMT trucks deliver the raw material labeled Uranium Hexafluoride to the GE facility in containers that are loaded on flatbed trailers. I-95 and I-40 are the two major routes to Wilmington.

[Buck W.]

In volume, this is just over 1/10 of a cubic meter of U.

[verum ago]

Isn't Uranium Hexafluoride a gas at STP?

nope-- it sublimes at around 130° F

[org.whodat]

it's probably in some sort of bomb proof container; and it's not that much by volume anyway- a hair over 5 cubic feet (uranium is extremely dense)

You are correct, the containers are the weight. Non-story, other than I hope the driver is ok.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Damn you Lex Luthor!

[verum ago]

Isn't UF6 highly corrosive?

if it reacts with water, it produces hydrogen fluoride-- which is both corrosive and quite toxic

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

LOL .... only on FreeRepublic does this kind of wit show up.

[verum ago]

You are correct, the containers are the weight. Non-story, other than I hope the driver is ok.

oh, I wasn't factoring the containers in-- 5 cubic feet of uranium weighs 6000 lbs on its own (it is very, very dense- 2/3 more dense than lead)

[sasha123]

Here's a local link for this story:

http://www.wral-tv.com/news/local/story/1114715/

[period end of story]

Free uranium?

I want some.

[NicknamedBob]

"Free uranium? I want some."

I got mine out of ocean water.

[COEXERJ145]

Uranium in itself is only weakly radioactive. This should be a complete non-story.

Yeah but most people don't know this. They hear "Uranium" and think Chernobyl or nuclear bomb.

[TheLion]

Interesting that a gazillion rules are in place to ship all kinds of radioactive materials, but we won't take two seconds to secure our borders, enforce our immigration laws and possibly find out who ultimately may be driving these vehicles....there is a real disconnect here.