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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
Rie Kurata, Masayuki Yamada, Takumi Suzuki, Hirofumi Nakamura, Yasunori Iwai, Kanetsugu Isobe, Takumi Hayashi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 71 | Number 4 | May 2017 | Pages 687-692
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1290953
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) in Japan is operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and was established as the only facility to handle over one gram of tritium in Japan in 1985. Since March 1988, the TPL has been operated safely with tritium, and no tritium release accidents have been occurred. The maximum tritium concentration of a three-month average in a stream from a stack of TPL to environment was 350 Bq/m3, and is about 14 times smaller than that of the legal release limit in Japan. The failure data have been analyzed for several main components of the safety systems such as pumps and monitors. The tritium waste data has also been accumulated as liquid and solid waste from TPL. Through this operating experience, a significant database for the safety systems of the TPL has been accumulated. This data can provide a source of reliability information for a future fusion facilities.