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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
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From operator to entrepreneur: David Garcia applies outage management lessons
David Garcia
If ComEd’s Zion plant in northern Illinois hadn’t closed in 1998, David Garcia might still be there, where he got his start in nuclear power as an operator at age 24.
But in his ninth year working there, Zion closed, and Garcia moved on to a series of new roles—including at Wisconsin’s Point Beach plant, the corporate offices of Minnesota’s Xcel Energy, and on the supplier side at PaR Nuclear—into an on-the-job education that he augmented with degrees in business and divinity that he sought later in life.
Garcia started his own company—Waymaker Resource Group—in 2014. Recently, Waymaker has been supporting Holtec’s restart project at the Palisades plant with staffing and analysis. Palisades sits almost exactly due east of the fully decommissioned Zion site on the other side of Lake Michigan and is poised to operate again after what amounts to an extended outage of more than three years. Holtec also plans to build more reactors at the same site.
For Garcia, the takeaway is clear: “This industry is not going away. Nuclear power and the adjacent industries that support nuclear power—and clean energy, period—are going to be needed for decades upon decades.”
In July, Garcia talked with Nuclear News staff writer Susan Gallier about his career and what he has learned about running successful outages and other projects.
J. E. Klein, E. A. Clark, C. D. Harvel, D. A. Farmer, M. L. Moore, L. L. Tovo, A. S. Poorea
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 67 | Number 2 | March 2015 | Pages 420-423
Proceedings of TRITIUM 2013 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-T44
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has clearly defined requirements for nuclear material control and accountability (MC&A) of tritium whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not since tritium is not a fissile material. MC&A requirements are expected for tritium fusion machines and will be dictated by the host country or regulatory body where the machine is operated. Material Balance Areas (MBAs) are defined to aid in the tracking and reporting of nuclear material movements and inventories. Material sub-accounts (MSAs) are established along with key measurement points (KMPs) to further subdivide a MBA to localize and minimize uncertainties in the inventory difference (ID) calculations for tritium accountancy. Fusion systems try to minimize tritium inventory which may require continuous movement of material through the MSAs. The ability of making meaningful measurements of these material transfers is described in terms of establishing the MSA structure to perform and reconcile ID calculations. For fusion machines, changes to the traditional ID equation will be discussed which includes breading, burn-up, and retention of tritium in the fusion device. The concept of “net” tritium quantities consumed or lost in fusion devices is described in terms of inventory taking strategies and how it is used to track the accumulation of tritium in components or fusion machines. `