ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2026
Nuclear Technology
January 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
J. F. Latkowski, S. Reyes, L. C. Cadwallader, J. P. Sharpe, T. D. Marshall, B. J. Merrill, R. L. Moore, D. A. Petti, R. Falquina, A. Rodriguez, J. Sanz, O. Cabellos
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 44 | Number 1 | July 2003 | Pages 34-40
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Fusion Plenary and Overview | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A307
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Over the past several years, significant progress has been made in the analysis of safety and environmental (S&E) issues for inertial fusion energy (IFE). Detailed safety assessments have been performed for the baseline power plant concepts, as well as for a conceptual target fabrication facility. Safety analysis results are helping to drive the agenda for experiments. A survey of the S&E characteristics - both radiological and chemical - of candidate target materials has been completed. Accident initiating events have been identified and incorporated into master logic diagrams, which will be essential to the detailed safety analyses that will be needed in the future. Studies of aerosol generation and transport will have important safety implications. A Monte Carlo-based uncertainty analysis procedure has been developed for use in neutron activation calculations. Finally, waste management issues are receiving increased attention and are deserving of further discussion.