Information on the shipment of high-level radioactive waste through Takoma Park, Maryland, The U.S. Department of Energy has targeted Takoma Park as a transportation route for high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) bound for its proposed national dump-site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The CSX railway, immediately next to the Takoma Metro Station, would carry up to nearly 2,000 “truck” containers (truck-sized containers loaded “piggy-back” upon train cars) and/or over 300 much larger “train” containers, of HLRW through town. A single accident or terrorist attack could release catastrophic amounts of radioactivity. Because the waste is so radioactive, emanating gamma radiation like a mobile x-ray machine that cannot be turned off, even “routine,” accident-free shipments would still deliver a potentially harmful radiation dose to innocent bystanders.
Update