With the sharp rise in nuclear shipments, public concern and outcry over the safety of these shipments has mounted. A million nuclear shipments are made nationwide each year. Government regulations require that shipments of large amounts of nuclear materials be made in accident-proof packages, carefully manufactured and inspected. “Torture-test” requirements are specified, along with the packaging methods for different types of nuclear materials. Calculations of the likely frequency of transport accidents, as well as the frequency of releases of nuclear materials in those accidents, lead to estimates of the overall public risk from nuclear shipments, along with some comparative guidelines on determining the acceptability of that risk.