Overview of the TFTR D&D program

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) operated for 15 years, from 1982 to 1997. From November 1993 to April 1997 a mixture of deuterium-tritium (D-T) was used to fuel experiments, leaving the reactor system in an activated and contaminated state. In this condition, the removal of the TFTR and its subsystems is greatly complicated. In 1999, PPPL commenced the TFTR Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Project. The objectives of the D&D projects are to completely remove the TFTR in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner. To date all diagnostics, structural components and ancillary systems have been removed, and the tokamak is in the process of being sectioned into smaller pieces. This paper will describe the criteria, the methods employed and the successes of the D&D Project.