Safety of spallation sources in the accelerator production of tritium

Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:426469

Edwards, J.N. Lowrie, R. ^[1]; A, Miller L ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States); Westinghouse Savannah River Site, Aikens, SC (United States)
2. Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM (United States); and others

The accelerator production of tritium (APT) project will employ a high-power proton accelerator to generate neutrons in a spallation target for the production of tritium. This paper describes major attributes of the safety of this facility. The spallation target has been designed to maximize the production of tritium, which includes minimizing the nonproductive structures and coolant in the path of the proton beam. This results in a system design that has critical performance requirements during normal operation and accident conditions. While a spallation target has no fissionable material, there is a buildup of radioactive material from neutron activation and spallation products. When the proton beam is shut down, the power falls very quickly to residual heat levels that are <1% of the full-power value.

• OSTI ID: 426469
• Report Number(s): CONF-961103--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 75; ISSN TANSAO; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

40 CHEMISTRY
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
ION BEAM TARGETS
ISOTOPE PRODUCTION
LINEAR ACCELERATORS
PROTON BEAMS
SAFETY ANALYSIS
SPALLATION
TRITIUM