Environmental Sustainability

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The environmental impact of particle accelerators

Researcher: Dr. Hannah Wakeling

How do particle accelerators intersect with the climate crisis?

Particle accelerators -- like everything else -- have an impact on the environment. The million dollar question is: is it possible to design and operate accelerators more sustainably without hindering scientific progress? As the climate crisis intensifies, researchers around the world are evaluating, reducing and mitigating these impacts through innovative and exciting approaches. Furthermore, particle accelerators could also help us develop some of the potential solutions to the climate crisis.

At the JAI, we are contributing to these efforts through evaluating accelerator environmental impacts, developing accelerator sustainability strategies and optimising particle accelerator component designs.

A Life Cycle Assessment of the proposed ISIS-II Neutron and Muon Source

The ISIS-II Neutron and Muon Source is the proposed next generation of, and successor to, the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom. Anticipated to start construction in around 2032, the ISIS-II project presents a unique opportunity to incorporate environmental sustainability practices from its inception.

Through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), we will examine the environmental impacts associated with each of the ISIS-II design options across the stages of the ISIS-II lifecycle (encompassing construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning). This proactive approach will assess all potential areas of environmental impact and seek to identify strategies for minimizing and mitigating negative impacts, wherever feasible.

First insights into the process and first results of the LCA of the entirety of the ISIS-II project can be found here.

The ISIS-II Big Science Land development scope. A potential layout for the ISIS-II facility.