How fusion is regulated

Fusion devices are generally not licensed under the same rules as fission reactors, because they hold no self-sustaining chain reaction and carry a different, much smaller radiological hazard. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided in April 2023 to regulate fusion facilities under its rules for radioactive materials rather than its reactor licensing framework, with definitions written into law by the ADVANCE Act in 2024. In the United Kingdom, the Energy Act 2023 states that a fusion energy facility does not need a nuclear site licence, except where it shares a site with a fission reactor. Because of this split, this site's regulatory stage vocabulary is applied only to fission facilities.

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concept:fusion-regulation

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