Much of the recovered precious metals is being recycled. The catch it was on a Canadian icebreaker intentionally stuck in an ice floe over a one-year period. The Sandians and other participants each spent about six weeks conducting experiments designed to better understand and model radiant energy flows and their effects on ice coverage. The National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research were the principal funding organizations, with participation by DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program. We demonstrated the world's first c-Si photovoltaic module where the module's encapsulation and solar cell circuit and soldered interconnects were assembled in a single step.
None currently exists in industry.
In May the Environmental Protection Agency certified the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. This decision makes WIPP the world's first certified repository for disposing of radioactive waste deep underground. Much of the decision rested on Sandia's estimates of the repository's ability to isolate the waste for thousands of years. As scientific advisor to the WIPP Project, Sandia supplied full documentation for the estimates and worked extensively with EPA staff during its decision process. An important issue for fusion energy is plasma-facing components that can remove the plasma energy without contaminating the plasma.