3 ms·
The NRC does not plan to regulate fusion power the same way it does fission power [1]. Rather, it’s handled under the same framework as particle accelerators, w
by fastneutron 3y ago
The NRC does not plan to regulate fusion power the same way it does fission power [1]. Rather, it’s handled under the same framework as particle accelerators, which in many cases, falls under the jurisdiction of state health and environmental regulations. My partner was a state regulator involved in the rule making process for this, and the rules are intended to be far less restrictive than what fission requires.
Regulatory requirements are the least of fusion’s problems, compared to the technological challenges of actually working reliably in the first place, let alone with the high uptime that fission power enjoys.
1. https://www.nrc.gov/cdn/doc-collection-news/2023/23-029.pdf https://www.nrc.gov/cdn/doc-collection-news/2023/23-029.pdf