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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.
Joseph R. Petrella, Jr., Timothy Stevenson, Mark Cropper, Paul Sichta, Michael D’Agostino, Moheb Thomas, Xin Zhao, Clarence Hines
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 7 | October-November 2021 | Pages 493-500
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1908057
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A safety instrumented system design guided by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard IEC/ISA 61511 has been developed to ensure personnel protection from direct radiation and magnetic field hazards identified for the National Spherical Torus eXperiment–Upgrade (NSTX-U) fusion experiment at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. A layer of protection analysis was performed to develop the performance requirements of the system. A design was developed that incorporated three independent protection layers including configuration-managed safeguards (for electrical hazards), a trapped key system, and a dual chain redundant safety instrumented system. Extensive value engineering was undertaken to supplement existing infrastructure to be compliant with current industry standards and best engineering practices. The development and design of the safety instrumented system is presented.
