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.
L. A. El-Guebaly, H. Y. Khater
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1589-1593
Fusion Power Plants and Economics | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963178
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recent interest in the low aspect ratio (LAR) concept has led the U.S. ARIES team to examine the credibility of this advanced concept as a future source of fusion energy. The compactness of the LAR machine imposes severe constraints on the Cu center post (CP) which thus plays an important role in the design. In view of the fact that the machine operates for 40 y with a relatively high neutron wall loading of 4 MW/m2, the CP will be operating in a severe radiation environment for an extended period of time. The analysis indicated that the lifetime of the CP is limited by the Class C low level waste disposal requirements. Identification of potential radioactive waste problems for the Cu conductor has resulted in either limiting the lifetime of the unshielded CP to 0.12 FPY (corresponding to a fluence of 0.3 MWy/m2) or shielding the CP with 20-30 cm of shield. Since it is not feasible to replace hundreds of tonnes of Cu every 2 months, the CP should be shielded to prolong the lifetime to 4 years or more, reduce the cumulative radwaste and replacement cost, increase the system availability, and alleviate most of the CP radiation damage problems. We have assessed the effects of neutron fluence on conductor resistivity, swelling, and atomic displacement. Even though the radiation-induced swelling and changes to Cu resistivity due to transmutations are small at 0.3 MWy/m2, there is serious concern about the degradation of properties as all Cu alloys experience hardening and loss of ductility under neutron irradiation.
