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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Richard J. Pearson, Olivia Comsa, Liviu Stefan, William J. Nuttall
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 71 | Number 4 | May 2017 | Pages 610-615
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1290931
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The demand for tritium is expected to increase when ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) begins operation in the mid-2020s. Romania is expected to detritiate its CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) units at Cernavoda starting 2024, with the goal of improving radiological safety and reactor performance. Detritiation will result in a significant quantity of tritium being produced and thus Romania has an opportunity to supply tritium for fusion. In this assessment, ITER has been used as a reference device requiring tritium, as the projected tritium extraction schedule from Cernavoda aligns favourably with ITER operation. The findings suggest that Romania is capable of providing a total of 6.2 kg of tritium to ITER over its 20 year operation, generating a potential revenue of $186 M (USD). Opportunities associated with the supply of Romanian helium-3 are also considered as a hedging option, which has the potential to generate $120 M (USD) in the case of zero tritium sales. Greater involvement in future fission-fusion tritium-related activities through experience in tritium technologies is also discussed as a unique opportunity for Romania.