The Albuquerque Journal reports researchers from the Albuquerque lab tested the safety of transporting highly radioactive fuel last year by sending a mock shipment by truck, barge, ship and train nearly 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers).

Three mock fuel assemblies, which would typically contain uranium pellets, were placed in a special cask outfitted with gauges to measure its movement. The cask was shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Pueblo, Colorado, to simulate the movement to reach a storage facility.

Sandia transportation projects manager Sylvia Saltzstein says nothing was broken or damaged in the shipment. She says it will take several more months to fully analyze the data.