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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.
Teuntje Tijssen, Barry Butler
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | April-May 2024 | Pages 563-570
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2180243
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The tritium inventory of future fusion power plants needs to be monitored in the fuel cycle for several reasons: to comply with limits imposed by environment and safety regulators, to adhere to practices required by nuclear regulators, and for process control purposes. Fulfilling all these requirements leads to a comprehensive list of locations in the fuel cycle where tritium monitoring needs to take place, each characterized by different measurement conditions and required accuracies. Meanwhile, existing tritium detection technologies all come with specific applicabilities such as accuracy, material phase, and ability to detect tritium in a continuous manner. These do not necessarily correspond to the required measurement conditions. As an example, one tritium detection technology will be matched up with the previously defined measurement conditions, which allows for the identification of gaps in the existing detection capabilities of this technology. This work leads to several recommendations, i.e., developments to expand the applicability of tritium detection technologies, experimental proposals to test detection techniques at more extreme conditions, and expansion of the regulatory framework regarding tritium handling and breeding. These developments are critical for a functioning tritium management and control system, and this paper outlines the first step in that process.