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Cameco’s ship with uranium spill headed back to Vancouver

Uranium ship likely coming to Vancouver for spill cleanup, The Vancouver Sun, by Cassandra Kyle, 20 Jan 2011, The ship containing Cameco Corp.’s spilled uranium concentrate will likely be moved to the Port of Vancouver for cleanup, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) says.In a regular public meeting broadcast Wednesday over the Internet, CNSC staff members did not give a timeline for the transfer of the ship or say how long the cleanup could take……
The ship is docked in Ladysmith, B.C., where it was met on Sunday by Cameco, CNSC and Transport Canada crews. A detailed cleanup plan is being developed.

The lids of at least two industrial drums carrying the substance fell off the drums while the ship — the Altona — encountered several days of severe weather while crossing the Pacific Ocean to Zhanjiang, China, from Vancouver. The drums were inside shipping containers, however some containers fell over and the doors on at least one container opened during the ship’s time at sea.

After leaving Vancouver on Dec. 23 the Altona — at the request of Cameco — turned around Jan. 3 while it was between Hawaii and the Midway Islands to head back to Canada. The ship’s crew informed the Saskatoon uranium firm of trouble with the cargo earlier that day.

The shipment of 770,000 pounds of uranium concentrate, which was packed in roughly 840 drums and placed in 24 sea containers, was supposed to reach China during the third week of January. ….
To date, the Cameco and federal teams inspecting the ship at Ladysmith have only been able to see the damage to the first few containers in the cargo hold. Eventually, the teams will be able to examine all of the containers in the hold.

Uranium ship likely coming to Vancouver for spill cleanup

January 21, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety