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
May 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
N. A. Uckan, H-W. Bartels, D. Boucher, T. Honda
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 661-665
Safety and Environment (Poster Session) | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963690
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Verification efforts to compare the results from the safety assessment code SAFALY (with 0-D plasma model) and the 1.5-D plasma transport code PRETOR are discussed. The SAFALY code was used for calculating safety related plasma transients documented in ITER safety reports (ITER-FDR). The PRETOR code was used for plasma performance assessments for many ITER design related problems. Four test cases are considered as a verification basis for the SAFALY-PRETOR comparison: (i) increase in fueling by a specified amount and parameter scans to explore conditions leading to a maximum fusion power transient, (ii) sudden improvement (doubling) of plasma energy confinement time, (iii) sudden injection of 100 MW of heating power into an ignited plasma, and (iv) stop of plasma fueling. Verification studies of plasma transient analysis with SAFALY and PRETOR code systems have confirmed that the significant number of results reported in safety reports [such as ITER-FDR] can be reproduced by both code systems, and that the safety reports were based on the more conservative results.