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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NRC nominee Nieh commits to independent safety mission
During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing today, Ho Nieh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was urged to maintain the agency’s independence regardless of political pressure from the Trump administration.
David Hillesheimer, Alexander Marsteller, Florian Priester, Marco Röllig, Michael Sturm, Stefan Welte, Johanna Wydra, Lutz Bornschein, Tobias Falke, Tobias Weber, Nancy Tuchscherer, Thanh-Long Le, Simon Niemes
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | May 2024 | Pages 465-471
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2209691
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment measures the tritium β-spectrum close to the maximum decay energy to achieve the value of the electron-antineutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c2 (90% confidence level). Since only a small fraction of the decay electrons carries nearly all the energy, a high luminous tritium source, with its supporting infrastructure facilities, is necessary.
Since the start of the tritium operation of KATRIN back in May 2018, more than 600 days of 24/7 measuring campaigns with a total tritium throughput of ≈18.1 kg and a tritium concentration >95% have been conducted. Despite several technical issues occurring during the run time, the necessary reliable supply of tritium was provided. This contribution will give an overview of the current operational conditions of the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe tritium facilities involved, as well as the relevant technical, analytical, and administrative procedures implemented. Furthermore, an analysis will be given for system and component malfunctions in the tritium loop as well as the associated actions for problem-solving and repair. In addition, an end-of-life investigation for the component failure will be presented.