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November
8, 2001
Abraham
Designates INEEL S.T.A.R. Fusion Facility A "National
User Facility"
Releases $1.5 Million in Environmental Management
Research Grants
Idaho Falls, Idaho - Visiting the Department of
Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Lab (INEEL) today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham declared the Safety and Tritium Applied
Research (STAR) facility a "national user
facility," opening the facility's resources
to increased scientific research from around the
world.
"By designating STAR a national user facility,
the department is increasing accessing to this
important research facility for scientists and
researchers across the world," Secretary
Abraham said. "INEEL has a reputation of
being an outstanding research facility in the
area of fusion safety and I am pleased to open
this facility to new and different research. Supporting
fusion safety research is another example of the
way the INEEL applies technical expertise to support
DOE's major missions in science, energy and environment."
The STAR facility houses specialized systems for
investigating the consequences of accidents in
fusion reactors. Scientists believe fusion can
be an almost infinite source of energy, but learning
to safely harness the reaction is a tremendous
challenge. The facility is designed to host a
number of experiments to determine how tritium,
the "fuel" in a fusion reaction, interacts
with other materials used to produce a fusion
reaction. Currently, the STAR facility is hosting
a collaboration between the United States and
Japan to explore a number of fusion safety research
initiatives.
Announces $1.5 Million for Environmental Management
Research
In addition, Abraham said that the department's
Environmental Management Science Program has awarded
INEEL $1.5 million in grant funding over the next
three years for research to support the department's
Environmental Management cleanup program.
The grants, to fund research initiatives to develop
new approaches to dealing with the disposition
of high level waste and the deactivation and decontamination
of facilities, are part of 45 research grants
totaling $39 million.
Media Contact:
Number: R-01-190
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