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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.
Jeffery F. Latkowski
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 767-771
National Ignition Facility-Target Area | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963706
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During routine operations, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will attain fusion yields as high as 1200 MJ/yr with individual experiments reaching 20 MJ. Neutron activation of components within the NIF Target Bay will result in occupational doses that must be understood and limited to ≤ 10 person-rem/yr. Previous work has shown that the final optics assemblies (FOAs) are the key to worker doses. The present work gives results for three-dimensional analyses including dose rates and worker doses. Results for modified FOA designs are also presented. Finally, a concept for a polyethylene shielding plug is discussed and shown to substantially reduce occupational doses.