China has just launched its biggest nuclear fusion research facility as it continues to pursue the construction of an “artificial sun”. A recent report included images of the interior of the completed main building of the facility in east Chain’s Anhui province. The facility is formally known as the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT). It has been nicknamed “Kuafu” who was a mythical giant who attempted to capture the sun. According to an ancient Chinese fable, the giant Kuafu tried to chase and captured the sun to end a drought. Even though the giant died of thirst before he could catch the sun, he is seen to be a symbol of bravery.
      The report showed pictures of some of the facility’s experimental components. There are images of a prototype of one of eight huge orange segment-inspired pieces. The segments come together to form a hollow doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber where the fusion experiments will take place. Also shown in the report was a seven hundred seventy-one-ton superconducting magnet used for magnetic confinement fusion. CRAFT is expected to be finished by the end of 2025. Scientists have already started working on projects at the complex.
     Nuclear fusion occurs when two lighter nuclei combine to form a heavier single nucleus. This process releases massive amounts of energy. It powers the sun and all the stars in the sky. As global demand for carbon-free energy grows. Fusion could be a way of “capturing the sun”.
     Fusion is powered by deuterium and tritium. These two hydrogen variants are found in water around the globe. One quart of seawater has enough deuterium to produce fusion energy equal to burning seventy-nine gallons of gasoline.
     Fusion power generation does not emit greenhouse gases. Instead, it releases helium. The radioactive waste produced by the process can be recycled within a century. Fusion does not use uranium or plutonium. There is no risk of a meltdown at a fusion reactor. 
     CRAFT is part of China’s plan to replicate the power generation process in the sun.
     The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) is a superconducting magnetic fusion energy reactor. It utilizes magnetic fields to confine plasma at very high temperatures. This facility is also located in Anhui. It has had multiple breakthroughs in the generation of fusion energy. These breakthroughs are expected to contribute to the development of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France which is the biggest fusion experimental reactor in the world.
     Hu Jiansheng is the deputy director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He told an interviewer in 2022 that China had already achieved eighty percent of the key technology for fusion power. He estimated that China could have usable energy in thirty to fifty years.
     CRAFT is a critical stepping-stone to working nuclear fusion as it will be used to test key technologies for the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) which is a proposed tokamak device for large-scale power generation expected to be completed around 2035.

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     James Smith is professor of environmental and geological sciences at Portsmouth University. He said that “in theory, you could drink this water”, because the contaminated water is already treated when it is stored and then diluted.
     David Baily is a physicist who runs a French laboratory which measure radioactivity. He said, “The key thing is how much tritium is there. At such levels, there is no issue with marine species, unless we see a severe decline in fish population, for instance.”
     However, some scientists say that we cannot predict the impact of releasing the contaminated water.
     Emily Hammon is an expert in energy and environmental law at George Washington University. She said, “The challenge with radionuclides (such as tritium) is that they present a question that science cannot fully answer; that is, at very low levels of exposure, what can be counted as ‘safe’? One can have a lot of faith in the IAEA’s work while still recognizing that compliance with standards does not mean that there are ‘zero’ environmental or human consequences attributed to the decision.”
     The U.S. National Association of Marine Laboratories released a statement in December of 2022 saying that it did not find Japan’s data convincing.
    Robert Richmond is a marine biologist at the University of Hawaii. He said, “We’ve seen an inadequate radiological, ecological impact assessment that makes us very concerned that Japan would not only be unable to detect what’s getting into the water, sediment and organisms, but if it does, there is no recourse to remove it… there’s no way to get the genie back in the bottle.”
     Environmental groups such as Greenpeace go even further as can be seen in a paper published by scientists at the University of South Carolina in April 2023. Shaun Burnie is a senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace East Asia. He says that tritium can have “direct negative effects” on plants and animals if ingested, including “reduced fertility” and “damage to cell structures, including DNA.”
     China has banned Japanese seafood because of the contaminated water release. Some commentators in the media believe that this could be a political move. Experts say that there is no scientific evidence backing concerns about seafood because the radiation release is so low.
     However, many people who work on coasts of the Pacific Ocean around the world every day still have concerns.
     Traditional female divers in South Korea known as “haenyeo” have expressed anxiety. Kim Eun-ah has been a diver in the waters off Jeju Island for six years. She said, “Now I feel it’s unsafe to dive in. We consider ourselves as part of the sea because we immerse ourselves in the water with our own bodies.”  Experts say that the contaminated water might be carried by ocean currents, particularly the cross-Pacific Kuroshio current. Fishermen have told interviewers that they fear their reputation has been permanently damaged. They are worried about their jobs.
     Mark Brown is the Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Cook Island Prime Minister. He says that he believes the released water meets international safety standards. He added that all nations across the region may not agree on the “complex” issue, but he suggested that they “assess the science.

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     Japan has begun releasing treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The release was opposed by China with a ban on Japanese seafood imports. There were also protests in Japan and South Korea.
     The United Nations’s (U.N.) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claims that the released water will have “negligible” radiological impact on people and the environment.  However, many people wonder if it is really safe.
     In 2011, a earthquake followed by a tsunami wrecked the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The cooling system was destroyed which resulted in overheating of the reactor cores and contamination of water inside the facility with highly radioactive material.
     Since the disaster, TEPCO, the nuclear power plant company, has been pumping in water to cool down the reactors’ nuclear fuel rods. Every day, the plant produces more contaminated water which is stored in more than one thousand tanks. This is enough to fill five hundred Olympic swimming pools.
     Japan says that it needs the land currently occupied by the tanks to build new facilities required to safely decommission the plant. Japan has also raised concerns about the consequences if the tanks were to collapse in a natural disaster.
     Japan is releasing the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean gradually. It has received approval from the IAEA for the release. The first release is one of four releases scheduled between now and the end of March 2024. It is estimated that the entire process will take at least thirty years.
     If Japan had been able to remove all radioactive elements from the contaminated water before sending it to the ocean, maybe there would not have been such a controversy.
     The problem is being caused by a radioactive isotope of hydrogen called tritium. Tritium atoms have two neutrons in the nucleus. It cannot be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology able to do it. Instead, the contaminated water is diluted.
     The general consensus from experts is that the release is safe. However, not all scientists agree on the impact it will have. Tritium is present in water across the globe. Most scientists have argued that if the levels of tritium are very low, the impact will be minimal. However, critics say that more studies on how it could affect the ocean bed, marine life and humans are needed.
     The IAEA has a permanent office at Fukushima. It said that an “independent, on-site analysis” had shown that the tritium concentration in the water discharged was “far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per liter (Bg/L)”. That is six times less than the World Health Organization’s limit for safe drinking water, which is at least 10,000 Bg/L.
     On August 25, the release of contaminated water began. TEPCO said that seawater samples taken on that day showed that radioactivity levels were within safe limits. The tritium concentration in the contaminated water was below 1,500 Bq/L. Japan’s environmental ministry said that it had also collected seawater samples from eleven different locations on the 25th. The results of the testing were released on August 27th.
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     Westinghouse Electric Company and Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear utility of Ukraine, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work on the development and deployment of the AP300tm small modular reactor. The agreement establishes a joint working group to cooperate on areas such as contracting, licensing and the local nuclear supply chain.
     Ukraine is pursuing carbon neutrality of its energy sector by 2050 and has plans to develop modern and safe nuclear power generation based on the latest advanced technologies. German Galushchenko is the Ukrainian Minister of Energy. He emphasized that the technology of small modular reactors is very promising for Ukraine. This is especially the case in terms of implementation of the national Ukrainian Energy Strategy until 2050. He added that “Ukraine has every prospect of becoming one of the leaders in clean energy and increasing nuclear generation capacity both through the construction of new large power units and deployment of small modular reactors with first units expected within the next ten years.”
    Galushchenko also noted that the localization of manufacturing is one of the most important components of these agreements. Ukraine has some of the most experienced nuclear experts in the world. Manufacturing the new small modular reactors in country will add to energy independence and security.
     Petro Kotin is the President of SE NNEGC “Energoatom”. He said, “Energoatom keeps working on new projects of advanced nuclear technologies, on which the energy security of Ukraine depends on in this challenging time. The company is doing its utmost to ensure that our country continues to move towards a carbon-free and clean future with nuclear energy as its integral part.” He went on to say that increasing the total capacity of nuclear power generation is vital for Ukraine as well. That is the reason why the construction of new nuclear power units has become part of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2050.
     Patrick Fragman is the President and CEO of Westinghouse. He said, “Westinghouse is pleased to support the Ukrainian people and Energoatom with clean, reliable and secure energy. From nuclear fuel to plant services to electricity generation, Westinghouse is honored to be a trusted partner for Ukraine today and for decades to come. The AP300 SMR is the only SMR being developed which fully leverages the design, licensing pedigree, supply chain and exceptional record of the AP1000© design already in operation in five plants around the world, and another seven units at different stages of construction and commission.”
     Last May, Westinghouse launched the AP300 small modular reactor, a three hundred megawatt single-loop pressurized water reactor that is the only small modular reactor based on the design of currently operating full-sized nuclear power reactors, the proven and licensed AP1000 technology. Westinghouse is confident that design certification for the AP300 small modular reactor will be received by 2027. Construction of the first AP300 will begin by 2030. The first operating unit is planned to be available in the early 2030s. Energoatom and Westinghouse have already agreed to deploy nine Westinghouse AP1000 units in Ukraine.