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June 15–18, 2025
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Latest News
Nominations open for CNTA awards
Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness is accepting nominations for its Fred C. Davison Distinguished Scientist Award and its Nuclear Service Award. Nominations for both awards must be submitted by August 1.
The awards will be presented this fall as part of the CNTA’s annual Edward Teller Lecture event.
Hesham Khater, Sandra Brereton, Lucile Dauffy, Jim Hall, Luisa Hansen, Soon Kim, Bertram Pohl, Shiva Sitaraman, Jerome Verbeke, Mitchell Young
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 74 | Number 4 | November 2018 | Pages 387-405
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2018.1471961
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is the world’s largest and most energetic laser system for inertial confinement fusion. The NIF is designed to perform shots with varying fusion yield (up to 20 MJ or 7.1 × 1018 neutrons per shot). A large number of diagnostic instruments are present inside the target chamber (TC) and target bay (TB) during shots. The gamma dose rates due to neutron activation are estimated at various decay times following the high-yield (20-MJ) shots. Several components, like the snout assemblies of the diagnostic instrument manipulators and target positioners are inserted inside the TC, close to the target during the shot. These components represent major sources of gamma decay after retraction outside the TC. Five days after a 20-MJ shot, dose rates near the highly activated (retracted) parts are on the order of 1 mSv/h and dose rates within the TB outside the TC but at distance from the retracted components drop to about 50 to 70 μSv/h. The dose is dominated by decay of 24Na (T1/2 = 14.95 h) and waiting for two additional days drops the dose rates significantly. Seven days following a 20-MJ shot, dose rates in the immediate vicinity of the retracted components drop to <0.2 mSv/h and the general ambient dose rates within the TB (away from retracted components) near the TC drop to <10 μSv/h. Dose rates at much larger distances from the TC (near TB wall) are an order of magnitude lower. Detailed radiation transport simulations are performed to create detailed dose rate maps for all floors inside the TB. The maps are used to estimate worker stay-out times following shots before entry is permitted into the TB.