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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
Johnnie B. Cannon, Clay E. Easterly, Wallace Davis, Jr., Jack S. Watson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 12 | Number 3 | November 1987 | Pages 341-353
Technical Paper | Safety/Environmental Aspect | doi.org/10.13182/FST87-A25067
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Radioactive and nonradioactive effluents will be released routinely during normal operation of near-term commercial fusion power reactors. Nonradioactive effluents will be essentially the same as those released at conventional steam-electric power plants. Radioactive effluents will consist of activated corrosion products and tritium. Most radioactive releases will originate from liquid-waste processing systems and from ventilation systems of various buildings where radioactivity may become airborne. These effluents will have some potential for environmental impact; however, the significance of the impact will depend in part on the concentration and release rate of the effluent. The type of reactor design (e.g., tokamak, mirror, etc.) has minimal influence on activation product releases. Activation products released are influenced primarily by the materials chosen for structural components, and the quantities released are influenced primarily by the coolant choice. The most likely choices for the coolant are water and helium. Preliminary release estimates for water- and helium-cooled fusion reactors are found to be similar to those of fission reactors with the same coolant and of comparable size and structural materials. Data are insufficient to do more than speculate about normal releases from liquid-metal-cooled reactors.