Fusion reactors, as presently conceived, will contain two major sources of radioactivity; tritium and neutron-activated structures and materials. The tritium.
Safety is a paramount task for all types of power plants, and the fusion one will not be an exception. The fusion power plant will produce no emissions, no pollutants, and a small number of radioactive materials that will be kept on-site. In the case where the conditions become so bad that the whole plasma discharge is terminated, the released energy is too small to do any harm to the power plant or its surroundings. The energy released during disruption, abrupt plasma termination, could damage some in-vessel components like first wall panels, divertor, or in worst cases, punch holes into the vessel or cooling pipes. The power plant is also prepared to handle an accident on some of its many cooling circuits. Since it will be produced in a reactor vessel, no radioactive material will be transported in or out of the power plant. The only radioactive waste after the decommissioning of the fusion power plant will be the breeders, chamber, and all in-vessel components.
ATFs are more resistant to radiation, corrosion, and high temperatures, so they perform better in the extreme environment of a nuclear reactor
Throughout construction, commissioning and operation, ITER's safety processes will comply with French regulations, as verified regularly through audit and inspection by the French nuclear authorities. (It functioned independently until 2014, when it was reunited with the CLI Cadarache by decision of the President of the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council.) This independent body acts as an interface between the ITER Organization and the local population for questions of nuclear safety, radioprotection and the installation's impact on personnel and the environment. The ITER Organization and the French Nuclear Safety Agency (ASN) provide the ITER CLI with any information necessary in the exercise of its mission. The fusion process at ITER requires tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years. Although the amount of tritium used during plasma pulses is very small—only a few grams at any one time—the confinement of this radioelement within the fuel cycle is one of the most important safety objectives at ITER.
A fusion power plant possesses not only intrinsic advantages with respect to safety compared to other sources of energy, but also a negligible long term impact
This paper summarizes the current state of the art in science and technology of the safety concept for future fusion power plants (FPPs) and examines the
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Tritium retention and permeation in fusion plasma facing component (PFC) and blanket materials, · Dust and radiological source characterization, dust collection,