Status of Safety and Environmental Activities in the U.S. Fusion Program

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of recent safety efforts in both magnetic and inertial fusion energy. Safety has been a part of fusion design and operations since the inception of fusion research. Safety research and safety design support have been provided for a variety of experiments in both the magnetic and inertial fusion programs. The main safety issues are reviewed, some recent safety highlights are discussed and the programmatic impacts that safety research has had are presented. Future directions in the safety and environmental area are proposed.