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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
America’s voting public shows inertia on climate change, but nuclear support is up
A new report based on what its authors call “the definitive American public opinion surveys on climate change and the environment” has found a statistically significant increase in the percentage of survey respondents who think nuclear power is a good way to generate electricity, relative to a survey that asked the same question in 2013. That’s despite evidence that “Americans’ views on climate change have remained remarkably steady.” The new report, Climate Insights 2024: American Understanding of Climate Change, is the product of a 27-year polling partnership led by the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University and Resources for the Future (RFF), and it was released July 15.
S. Sandri, A. Coniglio, A. Daniele, M. D'Arienzo, L. Di Pace, M. Pillon
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 2 | August 2011 | Pages 776-780
Safety & Environment | Proceedings of the Nineteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE) (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A12479
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
PRIMA consists of two experiments which will test at the same time the main components of the final system and the whole system. The facilities are named respectively SPIDER (Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from RF Plasma - ion source only) and MITICA (Megavolt ITER Injector Concept Advanced - the main system). Both injectors accelerate negative deuterium ions with a maximum energy of 1 MeV for MITICA and 100 keV for SPIDER, and a maximum beam current of 40 A for both experiments.Following D-D and D-T reactions on the calorimeter panels, important neutron and photon fields are generated around the injectors; such secondary radiation fields represent a relevant issue from the radiological safety point of view. Major radiation protection issues are the activation of materials and components around the injectors, among which the vessel itself and the corrosion products formed in the cooling loops (by the chemical reaction between metal and water). Both these radiation sources may contribute to personnel dose during maintenance operation.In addition, radioactive tritium is produced inside the vessel (mainly in the MITICA facility) which is likely to be poured in the environment during operation phases thus representing a possible contamination pathway for workers and for the population living in the area surrounding the facility.Finally, important penetrations for the ventilation, the power supply and the auxiliary systems were arranged inside the facilities. Tunnels in the underground region, with relatively large dimensions, were needed for both MITICA and SPIDER bunkers in order to allow personnel access for inspection and maintenance of cables and ducts. Each of these shielding weaknesses may provide important dose contribution to radiation workers thus requiring specific safety analyses.In the present paper all major safety issues and relevant radiological concerns are analyzed with a detailed assessment of dose contribution to personnel working inside the facility. Specific dose evaluations were performed through Monte Carlo simulations.Radiation shielding and radiation protection criteria were realized in order to meet the Italian regulatory limit for non radiation workers, ie. below 1 mSv/yr. Our analysis and project evaluations confirm that this constraint is never exceeded during operating phases of the injectors.