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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
Christopher E. Hamilton, Diana Honnell, Brian M. Patterson, Derek W. Schmidt, Kimberly A. Defriend Obrey
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 59 | Number 1 | January 2011 | Pages 194-198
Technical Paper | Nineteenth Target Fabrication Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST59-194
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Low-density materials containing tracer elements are an important component of target platforms for high-energy density physics experiments. High-Z elements can be dispersed homogeneously by changing chemistry of the matrix or by simple physical mixing; alternately, tracers can be introduced heterogeneously in the form of ultrathin foils or particles. We have recently focused on how best to manufacture and embed tracer elements into silica aerogels and polystyrene-divinylbenzene (CH) foams. The ability to control dopant concentration and distribution is critical to final shot success. We have produced low-density CH foams doped with chlorine at levels up to 2 at. %. In addition, we have placed metal particles and foils precisely within silica aerogel monoliths.