International EC countries bicker over fusion project JET—the Joint European Torus—is at the center of a new political storm cur rently blowing in Brussels. At issue is where to site the multimillion-dollar fusion research project. Several of the European Communities member coun tries for one reason or another would like to host the effort. On the face of it, all this doesn't ap pear to present too serious a problem. But the current argument has wider ramifications. If it continues unre solved much longer, it could affect EC's entire scientific research and de velopment thrust. Everyone is keeping fingers crossed that an agreement will be reached at next week's ministerial budget meeting in Brussels. Otherwise, the R&D effort, which has been coast ing along budgetless for the past few weeks, could be thrown into disarray. Last December, science ministers of the nine EC countries—Belgium, Den mark, France, West Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the U.K.—met to discuss and ap prove the spending of some $817 mil lion on R&D between 1976 and 1980. But Italy's Dr. Mario Pedini called a halt to the proceedings when he re fused to discuss any of the proposals until the question of where to site J E T is settled. J E T is an ambitious project aimed at developing a means of generating electricity through atomic fusion. Key to its success is the creation of the right physical conditions to fuse to gether nuclei of light elements such as deuterium and tritium. When these nuclei are fused, they form heavier, less energy-rich atomic species with the simultaneous release of energy. Similar efforts have been under way for some years in the U.S., Japan, and the Soviet Union. As in these countries, the European studies center on design of a doughnut-shaped toroidal magnet ic field to "contain" the light, positive ly charged nuclei under the extreme conditions necessary to overcome the natural electrostatic repulsion forces that exist between them. A team of fusion experts drawn from several research centers in EC has been drawing up preliminary designs at the Culham Laboratory near Oxford in the U.K. since 1974. The work of the 50-man team now is essentially com plete. The next step will be to build an experimental unit. This phase of the program will cost an estimated $713 million. Construction of J E T alone likely will cost about $157 million. Pedini believes that J E T should have its roots in Ispra in northern Italy, the main laboratory of EC's Joint Research Center. This, he argues, would have the psychological impact of establishing it as a community effort.
What he doesn't say, but which is true nonetheless, is that the scientific staff at Ispra could do with the boost to their morale that would come if J E T work were undertaken there. As it is, research budgeting at Ispra, as well as at the other laboratories that comprise the Joint Research Center—Petten in the Netherlands, Geel in Belgium, and Karlsruhe in West Germany—has had a fairly erratic history. Besides, al though Ispra isn't Italian-owned in the strict sense of the term, it is on Italian soil. Playing host to a project such as J E T would be a prestigious factor. As it happens, Pedini's preference for Ispra has the backing of the EC Commission. An independent commit tee has carried out an evaluation of various locations for J E T . It looked into the availability of adequate elec tricity supplies, specialized equipment, tritium, and the like, and even consid ered social aspects such as housing and schools in the area. After analyzing the status of Cadarache in southern France, Culham in the U.K., Garching and Julich in West Germany, and Mol in Belgium, against these factors, the site committee decided that Ispra has the edge over the others. Anthony Wedgewood Benn, the U.K.'s energy minister, is expected to put forward a strong argument next week to swing opinion in favor of Cul ham. He will point out that the labora tory there has been engaged in fusion research for nearly 30 years in which time it has established a high reputa tion for expertise in the field. And there is the added advantage that keeping the fusion program at Culham would obviate the additional expense that would have to be incurred by relo cating staff and equipment. The U.K. isn't alone in contesting the suggestion that J E T go in at Ispra. Belgium, France, and West Germany, too, are critical of the idea. West Ger many in fact is offering to foot 15% of the overall cost of the project if either Garching or Julich is chosen. Dermot A. O'Sullwan, C&EΝ London Pedini: should have its roots in Ispra
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