Beyond Byproduct Rethinking Tritium in Fusion Technologies
By Taylor Loy
Published in Nuclear Future 21.6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.63198/nuclearfuture2161116
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SUMMARY
- Tritium is an essential component in most nuclear weapons and a significant material bottleneck for stockpile size and sophistication.The current “byproduct material” regulatory framework for fusion energy may not adequately address tritium’s role in vertical proliferation.
- The nuclear policy community should ensure that tritium and fusion energy regulations take an even-handed approach with respect to tritium’s dual-use applications.
- Nuclear Weapon States should declassify additional information on their tritium enterprises to increase transparency and promote peaceful-use activities.
LEAD AUTHOR
Taylor Loy holds a postdoc position at Virginia Tech, generously funded by a Carnegie Corporation of New York grant to research the civilian/military boundary in nuclear infrastructures. He brings a diverse academic/professional background to the study of civilian and military nuclear technologies. He received his PhD in Science, Technology, & Society (STS) at Virginia Tech, and hisdissertation focuses on tritium, a unique and ephemeral radioactive isotope that readily transgresses established boundaries between civilian/military and natural/ technological domains.