National Ignition Facility Pollution Prevention And Waste Minimization Plan PDF Download

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national center for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and other research into the physics of high temperatures and high densities, and a vital element of the DOE's nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. It will be used by scientists from a numerous different institutions and disciplines to support research advancements in national security, energy, basic science, and economic development. Multiple powerful laser beams will 'ignite' small fusion targets, helping liberate more energy than is required to initiate the fusion reactions. This paper discusses the Design for Environment process for NIF, some of the subsequent activities resulting from the initial study, and a few of the lessons learned from this process. Subsequent activities include the development of a Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization Plan (P2/WMin) for the facility, which includes Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessments (PPOAS) on predicted waste streams from NIF, development of construction phase recycling plans, analysis of some of the specialized materials of construction to minimize future demolition and decommissioning (D & D) costs and development of cost assessments for more benign cleaning procedures that meet the stringent cleaning specifications for this facility.