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2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Russia withdraws from 25-year-old weapons-grade plutonium agreement
Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, approved a measure to withdraw from a 25-year-old agreement with the United States to cut back on the leftover plutonium from Cold War–era nuclear weapons.
G. R. Smolik, B. J. Merrill, S. J. Piet, D. F. Holland
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1342-1348
Result of Large Experiment and Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29529
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper presents the results of an experimental/analytical study designed to determine the quantity of hydrogen generated during an accident involving coolant leakage into the plasma chamber of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This hydrogen could represent a potential explosive hazard, provided the proper conditions exist, causing machine damage and release of radioactive material. We measured graphite/steam reaction rates for several graphites and carbon-based composites at temperatures between 1000 and 1700°C. The effects of steam flow rate and partial pressure were also examined. The measured reaction rates correlated well with two Arrhenius type relationships. We used the relationships for GraphNOL N3M in a thermal model to determine that for ITER the quantity of hydrogen produced would range between 5 and 35 kg, depending upon how the graphite tiles are attached to the first wall. While 5 kg is not a significant concern, 35 kg presents an explosive hazard.