Chlorine-Caused Cracks Force Major Rework of ITER Heat Shield

Chlorine trapped in a cleaning bath caused stress corrosion cracking in cooling pipes attached to ITER’s vacuum vessel thermal shield in southern France, prompting the removal of 2,205 pounds of silver and cutting out 6.8 miles of pipe to be replaced; the three-year repair program, performed by INOX-CVA, wrapped up in July, while other ITER sectors advance with magnet testing and assembly.