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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
H. Y. Khater
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 614-618
Safety and Environment (Poster Session) | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963682
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Activation and Safety analyses were performed for the ARIES-ST design. The ARIES-ST power plant includes a water cooled copper center post and uses a SiC/LiPb blanket. The first wall and shield are made of low activation ferritic steel and cooled with helium. The center post, first wall, inboard shield and blanket were assumed to survive for 2.6 full power years (FPY). On the other hand, the outboard shield and vacuum vessel were assumed to stay in place for 40 FPY. Neutron transmutation of copper resulted in the production of several nickel, cobalt and zinc isotopes. The production of these isotopes resulted an increase of the time-space average resistivity of the center post by about 6% after 2.6 FPY. All of the plant components met the limits for disposal as Class C low level waste (LLW). The off-site doses produced at the onset of an accident are caused by the mobilization of the radioactive inventory present in the plant. Analysis of a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) indicated that the first wall and shield would reach a maximum temperature of less than 700°C during the accident. The calculated temperature profiles and available oxidation-driven volatility experimental data were used to calculate the dose at the site boundary under conservative release conditions. The current design produces an effective whole body early dose of 1.77 mSv at the site boundary.