Environmental Implications of the Use of Fusion Power

Abstract

Long-term limits to growth in energy-use will be imposed not by inability to expand supply but by the rising environmental and social costs of doing so. These costs will therefore be central issues in choosing long-term energy options. Energy from nuclear fusion, like solar energy, is not one technology but many. Some of the fusion possibilities seem likely to have very attractive environmental characteristics; others may be little better in these regards than nuclear fission.Issues in fusion-reactor design that are crucial from the environmental standpoint include: size of tritium inventory and pathways for its release; nature and configuration of materials that are subject to neutron activation; forms and quantities of the stored energy that are internal to the reactor, and the nature of potential links between fusion technology and nuclear weaponry.

Influences of pH, Temperature, and Moisture on Gaseous Tritium Uptake in Surface Soils

“…Currently, moderate amounts of T2-HT are released from military and industrial production facilities (24,25). Development of fusion technologies could increase the T2-HT input to the atmosphere (15). Thus, an understanding of the factors which influence the rate of T2-HT uptake by soil is desirable.…”

Analyzing the Nuclear Weapons Proliferation Risk Posed by a Mature Fusion Technology and Economy

“…Yet the implications for energy policy beyond a promised unlimited energy supply seem inadequately critiqued using modern approaches that are designed to be balanced and comprehensive, such as RA. This is despite sufficient issues for consideration being identified quite early by Holdren [2][3][4] and Lidsky [18], followed up more recently by Franceschini et al [21], Schmidt et al [22], Caravannis et al [23], and others. Subsequent to Holdren's and Lidsky's analyses, the United States has confirmed, by its decision to use a civilian reactor to supply tritium for weapons, that no solid dividing line exists between civilian and military nuclear power [68,81,82].…”

“…A possible reason why scholars have not extensively considered the proliferation potential of fusion power and policy implications may have been Holdren's [3] hypothesis, published in 1980, that "(in) 30 years . .…”

“…Technological capacity appears a predictor of whether a nation will develop weapons. [2][3][4]42,80,91,92] Enhanced nuclear materials handling via robotics Constraint on weapons manufacture and use is hazard posed by neutrons and gamma radiation. 235 U and 239 Pu are preferred over 232 Th/ 233 U due to 232 U decay leading to 212 Bi and 208 Tl gamma ray emission.…”

“…The fusion research community contends that its environmental risks and impacts are trivial or manageable. Until recently, this 'clean green' image has rarely been critiqued and the early analysis of John Holdren [1][2][3][4][5] still provides one of the best cautions available in the open literature. Since then, fusion and competing energy technologies have evolved substantially and literature on fusion power generation principles and nuclear weapons has become more accessible.…”