Fusion Industry Association Principles for Regulation
As companies race to develop fusion energy, governments and regulators should calibrate their regulatory approach to fusion’s low risks to health, safety, security, and the environment.
The FIA has published a short one-pager outlining the principles for regulation in order to support the fusion regulation. Please read the entire document for details. The key recommendations are below.
Establish a broad legislative and regulatory framework that explicitly and permanently removes fusion energy from the regulatory approaches that the federal government has taken towards fission power plants.
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The NRC’s Part 50, 52 and proposed 53 regulations for large commercial fission reactors address a different suite of risks compared to risks that fusion facilities could create and therefore are not appropriate for fusion systems.
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Rules like the NRC’s Part 20 regulations for general radiation protection and Part 30 rules for handling byproduct material would properly address fusion facilities’ risk profiles.
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The DOE has created a framework for safe construction and operation of experimental fusion energy devices that has worked well for decades.
February 29th, 2020
