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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.
Kou-John Hong, Michael A. Lazaro
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1511-1515
Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963164
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The potential radiological impacts of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a proposed facility for fusion ignition and high-energy density experiments, were assessed for five candidate sites to assist in site selection. The GENII computer program was used to model releases of radionuclides during normal NIF operations and a postulated accident and to calculate radiation doses to the public. Health risks were estimated by converting the estimated doses into health effects using a standard cancer fatality risk factor. The greatest calculated radiation dose was less than one thousandth of a percent of the dose received from natural background radiation; no cancer fatalities would be expected to occur in the public as the result of normal NIF operations. The highest dose conservatively estimated to result from a postulated accident could lead to a one in one million risk of cancer.