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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.
C. R. Bates, M. B. Chadwick
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 1 | October 2024 | Pages S186-S191
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2024.2370737
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutron cross sections of the stable lithium isotopes 6Li and 7Li were of interest in the 1940s and 1950s in part because of their reactions, which form tritium using moderated neutrons on 6Li and higher-energy neutrons on either isotope. Lithium remains of interest today for use as a blanket and shielding material in fusion reactors, where it can be used to breed tritium for a self-sustaining fuel cycle. During the Manhattan Project, the resonance in the 6Li(n,t) reaction was discovered and later became important for enhancing tritium production for nuclear technologies. The dominant natural isotope 7Li was and remains of interest because of the expense of enriching 6Li. It has been oft reported that the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear test had a yield twice as large as expected because the nuclear explosive device designers had not properly accounted for the benefits from the 7Li isotope in the fuel; we note that this explanation is false.