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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. Z. Youssef, M. E. Sawan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 3 | April 2005 | Pages 518-523
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A736
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The US has considered, among other options, two blanket concepts for Demo reactor in which helium is primarily used to cool the first wall (FW) and structure whereas molten salt (MS) is used as both coolant and breeder. Conventional reduced activation ferritic steel (RAFS, F82H) is used as the structural material in both blanket concepts. The low melting point Flibe (~380°C) is used in the first option while the Flinabe (~305°C) is used in the second option. In this paper, we present the results for assessing the radioactivity and decay heat. This assessment is performed separately for the structural material, the Be multiplier and the breeder (Flibe/Flinabe). The Class C waste disposal rating (WDR) was estimated for each material. For Flibe, Flinabe and Be the WDR is much lower than unity. However, the WDR for F82H is ~0.6-1.3. They are attributed to reactions with Mo and Nb present in F82H with levels of 70 wppm and 4 wppm, respectively. To ensure that F82H qualifies for shallow land burial, it is suggested to reduce these two impurities to ~50 and ~3 wppm, respectively.
