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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Jean-François Pignatel, Pierre Richard, Gerald Rimpault, Julian Murgatroyd, Richard Stainsby, Michael Schikorr, Evaldas Bubelis, Sophie Larmignat, Antony Woaye Hune, Danas Ridikas, Alan Takibayev
Nuclear Technology | Volume 180 | Number 2 | November 2012 | Pages 264-296
Technical Paper | Accelerators | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-97
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to reduce the volume and the radiotoxicity of the nuclear waste coming from the operation of existing pressurized water reactors, accelerator-driven systems (ADSs) have been envisioned.The Helium-cooled (He) European Facility for Industrial-scale Transmutation (He-EFIT) concept is the EUROpean Research Programme for the TRANSmutation of High Level Nuclear Waste in Accelerator Driven System (EUROTRANS) Integrated Project (IP) (EUROTRANS IP) backup option, whereas Pb-cooled EFIT is the reference one. The plant has a power of [approximately]400 MW(thermal). Like all ADS plants, it consists of three main components: the accelerator, the spallation target module, and the subcritical core.This paper describes the He-EFIT design at the end of the EUROTRANS IP as well as the studies performed to support this design: spallation performances, trasmutation capabilities, and plant safety analyses.No specific technology deadlock has been identified, and it might be possible to build such a plant given necessary research and development in support.
