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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.
P. J. Brackenbury, G. D. Bazinet, W. C. Miller
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 724-729
Materials Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22945
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The design and development of the Fusion Materials Irradiation Test (FMIT) Facility lithium system is outlined. This unique liquid lithium recirculating system, the largest of its kind in the world, is described with emphasis on the liquid lithium target assembly and other important components necessary to provide lithium flow to the target. The operational status and role of the Experimental Lithium System (ELS) in the design of the FMIT lithium system are discussed. Safety aspects of operating the FMIT lithium system in a highly radioactive condition are described. Potential spillage of the lithium is controlled by cell liners, by argon flood systems and by remote maintenance features. Lithium chemistry is monitored and controlled by a side-stream loop, where impurities measured by instruments are collected by hot and cold traps.