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DOE announces NEPA exclusion for advanced reactors
The Department of Energy has announced that it is establishing a categorical exclusion for the application of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to the authorization, siting, construction, operation, reauthorization, and decommissioning of advanced nuclear reactors.
According to the DOE, this significant change, which goes into effect today, “is based on the experience of DOE and other federal agencies, current technologies, regulatory requirements, and accepted industry practice.”
Takuya Nagasaka, Martin L. Grossbeck, Takeo Muroga, James F. King
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 664-668
Fusion Materials | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963315
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Charpy impact tests of Japanese and US reference V-4Cr-4Ti alloys, NIFS-HEAT-1 (180 wppm oxygen) and US832665 (310 wppm Oxygen), were examined after gas-tungsten-arc (GTA) welding in a purified argon atmosphere. To investigate the effects of further reduction of oxygen level in the fusion zone, filler wires made of HP (high-purity V-4Cr-4Ti, 36 wppm oxygen) were used as well as those made of the reference alloys. Charpy impact property of NIFS-HEAT-1 in as-GTA-welded condition was superior to that of US832665. Use of the high-purity filler wires improved the impact property further. Good correlation was obtained between ductile-brittle-transition temperature (DBTT) and the oxygen level in the fusion zone. Since oxygen contamination from the atmosphere is avoidable by controlling its impurity level, oxygen reduction in weld materials, such as plate and wire, is crucial to obtain good weldability. Only contamination element detected in this study was hydrogen. Contamination occurred not only in fusion zone but also in base metal. Degassing of hydrogen after the welding may improve the impact property further.