Operational aspects of using beryllium—safety and decontamination

After more than 6 years of operational experience working and handling beryllium, JET is now in a position to work efficiently and easily with the imposed procedural, organisational and facility-wise requirements associated with the large scale use of beryllium. It is, however, clear that the use of beryllium requires a large additional commitment both in the form of additional facilities as well as man-power, ultimately leading up to a substantial additional financial burden. This paper outlines this additional effort and what impact it has on the design, operation and maintenance of a large scale machine such as JET or ITER.