The US Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing to transport a rail-sized cask of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) as part of an ongoing research project. Today, nuclear fuel is being kept in nuclear power reactors longer to produce more electricity. This fuel is known as “high burnup.” DOE, in collaboration with the nuclear industry through the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is studying how high burnup SNF behaves in long-term storage to verify that it can be stored safely for many years before being transported for eventual disposal.

In 1957, Congress enacted the Price-Anderson Act (PAA) as an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq., to encourage the development of the nuclear industry and to ensure prompt and equitable compensation in the event of a nuclear incident. Specifically, the PAA establishes a system of financial protection for persons who may be liable for and persons who may be injured by a nuclear incident. With respect to activities conducted for the U.S.