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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.
M. Abdou et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 3 | April 2005 | Pages 475-487
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A732
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Testing blanket concepts in the integrated fusion environment is one of the principal objectives of ITER. Blanket test modules will be inserted in ITER from Day 1 of its operation and will provide the first experimental data on the feasibility of the D-T cycle for fusion. With the US rejoining ITER, the US community has decided to have strong participation in the ITER Test Blanket Module (TBM) Program. A US strategy for ITER-TBM has evolved that emphasizes international collaboration. A study was initiated to select the two blanket options for the US ITER-TBM in light of new R&D results from the US and world programs over the past decade. The study is led by the Plasma Chamber community in partnership with the Materials, PFC, Safety, and physics communities. The study focuses on assessment of the critical feasibility issues for candidate blanket concepts and it is strongly coupled to R&D of modeling and experiments. Examples of issues are MHD insulators, SiC insert viability and compatibility with PbLi, tritium permeation, MHD effects on heat transfer, solid breeder "temperature window" and thermomechanics, and chemistry control of molten salts. A dual coolant liquid breeder and a helium-cooled solid breeder blanket concept have been selected for the US ITER-TBM.