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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.
Ryoji Hiwatari, Yoshiyuki Asaoka, Kunihiko Okano, Seiji Mori, Hirokazu Yamada, Takuya Goto, Yuichi Ogawa
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 911-915
Technical Paper | Inertial Fusion Technology: Drivers and Advanced Designs | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1609
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fast ignition method enables a reduction of the laser power required to achieve a large energy gain. This suggests consideration of a new inertial confinement fusion power plant concept, which has a small fusion pulse and a high repetition laser with a dry wall chamber. To establish the potential of the fast ignition method and to make clear the critical issues, a Fast Ignition ICF reactor concept with a Dry Wall chamber and a High Repetition Laser (FI-DWHRL concept) was previously proposed. The maintenance approach for this Fast Ignition ICF reactor concept is preliminary considered and its critical issues are described in this paper. The large cask and the large maintenance port for replacing the blanket sectors are applied to this Fast Ignition ICF reactor concept. The first wall and blanket system is divided into 20 sectors and all beam lines go between blanket sectors. The vacuum vessel is located outside the blanket system and this vacuum vessel also serves as the tritium boundary. To replace the final optical device, 6 access corridors are placed along the reactor room. Finally, critical issues on this maintenance approach are listed.