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RIC panel discusses pathway to fusion commercialization
Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.
A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.
Elliot A. Clark, Kirk L. Shanahan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 1007-1011
Technical Paper | Tritium, Safety, and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1626
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Samples of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and the polyimide Vespel[registered trademark] were exposed to tritium gas in closed containers initially at 101 kPa (1 atmosphere) pressure and ambient temperature for various times up to 2.3 years. Tritium exposure effects on the samples were characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and radiolysis products were characterized by measuring the total final pressure and composition in the exposure containers at the end of exposure period.
