Preliminary assessment of the safety of IFMIF

The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is a planned high-energy neutron source for the testing of candidate materials for future fusion power plants. Safety studies performed during the various stages of the conceptual design of IFMIF have been brought together in a preliminary assessment of the safety of IFMIF, identifying the principal hazards and the means to prevent or mitigate them. The design is based on dual high-energy deuteron accelerators delivering beams onto a flowing lithium target, in which neutrons are produced through a d-Li stripping reaction. The neutrons irradiate material samples in controlled conditions in a test cell. In all these systems, potential hazards arise, but analyses show that no postulated off-normal event can result in a significant risk of harm to the public. However, care must be taken in forthcoming detailed design development to minimise occupational radiation exposure during IFMIF operation and maintenance.