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Nuclear Criticality Safety
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Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
R. J. Barrett
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 555-560
Environment and Safety | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22922
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Safety considerations play a significant role in the design of a near-term Fusion Engineering Device (FED). For the safety of the general public and the plant workers, the radiation environment caused by the reacting plasma and the potential release of tritium fuel are the dominant considerations. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulations and guidelines for radiation protection have been reviewed and are being applied to the device design. Direct radiation protection is provided by the device shield and the reactor building walls. Radiation from the activated device components and the tritium fuel is to be controlled with shielding, contamination control, and ventilation. The potential release of tritium from the plant has influenced the selection of reactor building and plant designs and specifications. The safety of the plant workers is affected primarily by the radiation from the activated device components and from plasma chamber debris. The highly activated device components make it necessary to design many of the maintenance activities in the reactor building for totally remote operation. The hot cell facility has evolved as a totally remote maintenance facility due to the high radiation levels of the device components. Safety considerations have had substantial impacts on the design of FED. Several examples of safety-related design impacts are discussed in the paper. Feasible solutions have been identified for all outstanding safety-related items, and additional optimization of these solutions is anticipated in future design studies.