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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.
R. L. Savercool, L. C. Cadwallader
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 4 | May 2005 | Pages 974-978
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Tritium, Safety, and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A814
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper documents the activities of the US-Japan exchange in the area of personnel safety at magnetic and laser fusion experiments. A near-miss event with a visiting scientist to the US in 1992 was the impetus for forming the Joint Working Group on Fusion Safety. This exchange has been under way for over ten years and has provided many safety insights for both US and Japanese facility personnel at national institutes and at universities. The background and activities of the Joint Working Group are described, including the facilities that have been visited for safety walkthroughs, the participants from both countries, and the main safety issues examined during visits. Based on these visits, some operational safety ideas to enhance experiment safety are given. The near-term future plans of the Safety Monitor Joint Working Group are also discussed.