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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.
Robert C. Cook, Mitchell Anthamatten, Stephan A. Letts, Abbas Nikroo, Donald G. Czechowicz
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 148-156
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A442
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One approach to improving the quality of the DT ice layer on the inside of a NIF capsule target is to enhance the natural -layering process by heating the ice with infrared light (IR) tuned to a D2 or DT excitation band. However to do this the IR must pass through the capsule wall, and absorption by the capsule material results in heat generation that is deleterious both in terms of reducing the energy input to the ice as well as increasing the difficulty of symmetrically cooling the capsule. In order to optimize the choice of wavelength we have measured the wavelength dependent transmission properties of IR through the plastic materials we are considering for capsule fabrication. We will present wavelength dependent extinction coefficient data for normal and fully deuterated plasma polymer and vapor deposited polyimide.