Radiological hazards of fusion reactors: models and comparisons

To facilitate an appraisal of the radiological hazards of fusion reactors, a comprehensive calculational scheme, referred to here as FUSEDOSE, was developed. For a given reactor configuration, FUSEDOSE calculates hazard indices for accidents, occupational exposures, and waste disposal. In the case of accident hazards, the indices calculated are the biological hazard potential (BHP), the dose at any point downwind, and the numbers of early deaths and illnesses and late cancer fatalities. For occupational hazards, the contact dose rate from several reactor components is computed. In the case of waste-disposal hazards, the maximum dose to an inadvertent intruder into a waste disposal site is calculated according to rules of 10 CFR Part 61; BHP and integrated BHP are calculated as well. The FUSEDOSE methodology was applied to reference fission- and fusion-reactor designs: a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) for fission, and the mirror advanced reactor study (MARS) design for fusion. For each class of hazard, the reference fusion design is found to have significant quantitative advantages over the reference fission design. The possibility of reducing each class of hazard through minor changes in the MARS design and major changes in reactor materials was explored