Just how dangerous are Fusion reactors? (Blog 6) Colby Newman

This week I'm going to talk about the dangers that are presented with nuclear fusion.

Not so much the disadvantages, like cost and sustainability, etc. I'm going to focus specifically on the dangers.

I've not yet done this so I figured, what the heck.


According to the folks at connectusfund.org, one of the main concerns with fusion is radioactive waste. 

According to the folks at connectusfund.org, waste produced from fusion is different than that of fission. This leads to people often confusing the two

"With a nuclear fission reactor, the radiation is alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays (which can penetrate your skin and break apart the bonds in your DNA structure, giving you all kinds of cancer)." (connectusfund.org, List of Cons of nuclear fusion #2)

Connectusfund.org also states, "In contrast, in a nuclear fusion reactor, the vessel wall is the only part that will be bombarded by the high energy neutrons, and if, in the worst case, all the protective layers surrounding the main fusion vessel fail, the neutron radiation will stop as soon as fusion reaction stops."

I know that's a lot to take in. I'll try and break it down.

In a fission power plant, there could be another Chernobyl incident if someone isn't careful. This is because the cancer-causing waste still exists, even in waste materials, as stated from Connectusfund.org.

There are counter measures for burring to keep it as far away from us. Just like how the waste at Chernobyl had to be burried and eventually a "container" of sorts was built in place of the plant to keep any radiation from spreading. 

As stated earlier, in a fusion plant, as soon as the reaction stops, the radiation will stop. In other words, fusion waste is not as big of a threat. In fact, it's very minimal. 

I found this really cool video on the website. You guys should check it out.


This is a debate on whether or not we should use nuclear energy. Again I recommend watching it. It's pretty lengthy, so I don't expect you to watch the whole thing.


This link will take you to my source for this week. 

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