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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.
W. Jeppson, Lewis D. Muhlestein, Sydney Cohen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 277-287
Overview | Special Section Content / Safety/Environment Aspect | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22819
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritium breeder material selection for fusion reactors is strongly influenced by the desire to minimize safety and environmental concerns. Breeder material safety compatibility studies are being conducted to identify and characterize breeder-coolant-material interactions under postulated reactor accident conditions. Recently completed scoping compatibility tests indicate the following. 1. Ternary oxides (liAlO2, Li2ZrO3, Li4SiO4, and liTiO3) at postulated blanket operating temperatures are chemically compatible with water coolant, while liquid lithium and Li7Pb2 reactons with water generate heat, aerosol, and hydrogen. 2. Lithium oxide and 17Li-83Pb alloy react mildly with water requiring special precautions to control hydrogen. 3. Liquid lithium reacts subtantially, while 17Li83Pb alloy reacts mildly with concrete to produce hydrogen. 4. Liquid lithium-air reactions may present some major safety concerns. Additional scoping tests are needed, bot the ternary oxides, lithium oxide, and 17Li-83Pb have definite safety advantages over liquid lithium and Li7pb2. The ternary oxides present minimal safety-related problems when used with water as coolant, air, or concrete; but they do require neuton multipliers, which may have safety compatibility concerns of lithium oxide 17Li-83Pb make them prime candidates as breeder materials. Current safety efforts are directed toward assessing the compatibility of lithium oxide and the lithium-lead alloy with coolants and other materials.
