THE IMPACT OF LOW-ACTIVATION CRITERIA ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL MATERIALS FOR FUSION

The utilisation of low-activation materials (LAMs) has been recommende d in the Report of the CEC Fusion Evaluation Board (''Colombo Report'' ) as a mean to demonstrate the safety and environmental feasibility of fusion. On this basis, criteria for the choice and the development of LAMs are proposed. They are based on the compliance to short- and lon g-term radioactivity limits and relate to accidental situations, maint enance and waste management. The relative importance, or ranking, of e ach criterion is adjusted to the peculiar properties and requirements of each reactor component. Activation levels of typical constituting m aterials are evaluated for each component and compared with the releva nt criteria. Materials composition data for the development of novel L AMs are defined. Low activation reference tables are also presented.