Forces Present in
the Mack Truck and Subaru Collision

The maximum static crush force that could have been generated during this accident is equal to the weight of the concrete truck (about 30,000 pounds). The surface under the concrete truck in this accident was the soil adjacent to the roadway.

This relatively soft surface acts as a cushion against the dynamic crush event, making the peak dynamic crush load only slightly higher than the static crush load (probably less than 60,000 pounds in this accident).

In the regulatory dynamic crush test the surface under the package is essentially rigid. The weight of the crushing plate is 1100 pounds. The peak dynamic crush force generated during the test is greater than 200,000 pounds.

CONCLUSION:
Although spent fuel casks are not required to be subjected to a crush test, the force during the impact test are much larger than the crush force from this accident. If a spent fuel cask were subjected to a dynamic crush force of 60,000 pounds, it is certain that the cask would NOT release any radioactive material.

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