Lund 10:00
R12
NUCLEAR FUSION: ETHICS AND EDUCATION
Taylor Gilchrist (tcg13@pitt.edu)
Engineers turn to ethics codes like the National Society of
Professional Engineers code of ethics and others like it to
make sound and safe decisions for others.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS NUCLEAR FUSION
As the world slowly depletes its supply of natural resources,
scientists around the world are working together to find new,
clean, and renewable sources of energy. In order to
accomplish this, the National Academy of Engineers has
released this “Grand Challenge”, a challenge to all engineers
to provide energy from nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the
chemical process that powers the sun, where two atoms,
while at very high temperatures, are fused together to make
one atom [1]. These reactions would take place in nuclear
fusion reactors, where the reactor would collect the energy
released from the fusion and convert it into clean energy that
can power entire cities. I chose to write about this challenge
because the fuels that power the world are slowly
disappearing and if we cannot find a new energy source,
humanity will take a huge leap backwards in technology.
However, nuclear reactions have proved to be very
dangerous and unstable. America used nuclear bombs to
cripple Japan and bring an end to World War II, while the
nuclear reactor at Chernobyl caused the deaths of many
people. People question if nuclear energy is safe and
reliable. Also being questioned is whether or not universities
should be teaching about nuclear fusion for the next
generation of engineers.
THE ETHICS OF NUCLEAR FUSION
The National Society of Professional Engineers laid a code
of ethics to guide engineers in their profession. Another code
of ethics is provided by the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers. How do these apply to nuclear fusion? By
studying these ethics codes, engineers can answer the
questions posed in the previous paragraph. The primary
concern with nuclear fusion reactors is safety. There need to
be precautions in place in case a reaction goes out of control.
While there is no possibility of a catastrophic failure like
with modern fission reactors, engineers need to think safety
first [2]. Both the National Society of Professional Engineers
and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers codes of
ethics state that “engineers should hold paramount the
health, welfare, and safety of the public [6].” In the case of
nuclear fusion, the entire reaction can be shut down instantly
if the reaction starts to run away by just cutting the fuel
supply [3]. Properly handling tritium is another challenge
that can have the ethics codes applied to the problem. Again,
the health and safety of the public is top priority. Though
tritium only has a half-life of 12.32 years, it is still
radioactive and should be treated with care [2]. Engineers
are already designing full containment facilities for any
radioactive materials that would be used in nuclear fusion.
This can also be applied to the management of radioactive
waste. Though when talking about waste management, we
also need to consider how it is disposed of. It is stated in the
NSPE code of ethics that engineers shall avoid deceptive
acts [6], while the AIChE code of ethics states to conduct
themselves in a fair, honorable, and respectful manner [7].
These codes ensure that the radioactive waste will be
disposed of in a responsible way that will do the least
damage to the environment. Finally, engineers question
nuclear fusion’s sustainability. For nuclear fusion to be
sustained, it continually needs fuel for the reaction. While
tritium can be bred from lithium, if the right people are not
doing it, the reaction will produce less tritium and less fuel
for nuclear fusion. This is where both ethic codes state that
“engineers shall only perform professional services in their
area of competence [6].” It would not make much sense for a
civil engineer to try to breed tritium from lithium, but a
chemical engineer would be perfect for the job. These ethic
codes allow engineers to keep people safe, keep the
environment healthy, and make processes run smoothly.
These, in turn, can eventually accomplish the engineering
"Grand Challenges” set forth by the National Association of
Engineers. However, these challenges cannot be met
NUCLEAR REACTIONS AND HOW THEY WORK
As previously stated, nuclear fusion is the process where two
atoms are fused together to make one new atom.
Accomplishing this produces a great deal of energy that can
be harnessed to power our lives. The most commonly used
atoms are the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium [1].
Deuterium is a naturally occurring ion, with two neutrons in
the atom, and is commonly available in nature. Tritium, on
the other hand, is a very rare isotope because of its
radioactive half-life of 12.32 years [2]. Because of the rarity
of tritium, fusion was not practical until engineers
discovered how to breed tritium from lithium. Since lithium
is plentiful in nature, supply would not run out for millions
of years. Another method of nuclear fusion is by using only
deuterium, reacting two atoms together to make a helium
atom [4]. This method is more difficult to achieve, but it is a
viable option if there is a lack of tritium. Two more fuel
cycles involve using helium and boron, but these methods
are seldom used [4]. Scientists are concerned, however,
about the potential risks of nuclear fusion power. How can
we or will we be able to prevent accidents? What are ways
we can handle tritium and contain its radioactivity? What is
to be done with the now radioactive waste? Can nuclear
fusion even be sustained for it to be cost effective [5]?
University of Pittsburgh
Swanson School of Engineering
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28 October 2010
Taylor Gilchrist
[5] Kerry O'Banion | 1981-10Environ. Sci. Technol., 1981, 15 (10), | 1130–
1136 | 10.1021/es00092a001
[6] "NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers." National Society of Professional
Engineers.
Web.
28
Oct.
2010.
<http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html>.
[7] "AIChE Code of Ethics." AIChE Home Page. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.aiche.org/About/Code.aspx>.
overnight, which is why every engineering student should
examine an engineering challenge and research ways to meet
their challenge.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLEGE RESEARCH OF
THE GRAND CHALLENGES
The NAE’s Grand Challenges present a unique opportunity
for incoming engineers, allowing them to bring their
research to life. As a freshman engineering student, this
research has let me learn about the world’s challenges and
discover ways to solve the problems. By starting at one
specific topic in the list of challenges, you can slowly create
solutions for all of the world’s problems. College research
also prepares freshman engineers to enter the workforce.
They are already familiar with the problems and can put
their creative solutions to the test. The amount of research
that goes into this paper allows freshmen engineering
students to truly grasp the problems faced by today’s
engineers and to create solutions to the problems based on
their research. I believe that all freshman engineers should
research any one of the grand challenges so that one day, of
the NAE grand challenges could be solved.
CONCLUSION
To summarize, nuclear fusion is the process of combining
atoms to produce energy. Nuclear fusion utilizes the isotopes
of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. Though nuclear fusion
seems like a perfect energy source: clean, abundant, and
green, nuclear fusion has problems that need to be
addressed. One of which is making sure we are able to
prevent any type of runaway nuclear reactions. Other
problems involve the handling of the radioactive tritium and
disposing the radioactive waste. With engineers following
the ethics codes laid out by the National Society of
Professional Engineers and the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, engineers can solve all of these
problems while keeping people safe and performing their
work honorably. Researching this challenge has taught me
the importance of solving tomorrow’s problems today.
Every freshman engineering program should include this
research paper so that we can make the future better.
REFERENCES
[1] Girard, J.P., et al. 2007. ITER, safety and licensing. Fusion Engineering
and Design 82(5-14): 506-510. DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2007.03.017
[2] Holtkamp, N. 2007. An overview of the ITER project. Fusion
Engineering
and
Design
82(5-14):
427-434.
DOI:
10.1016/j.fusengdes.2007.03.029.
[3] Magaud, P., G. Marbach, and I. Cook. 2004. Nuclear Fusion Reactors.
Pp. 365-381 in Encyclopedia of Energy, Volume 4, ed. C.J. Cleveland.
Elsevier Science: Oxford, U.K. DOI: 10.1016/B0-12-176480-X/00305-3.
[4 J. A. BLINK, O. H. KRIKORIAN, and N. J. HOFFMAN | ACS
Symposium Series | 1982-03-08179:Metal Bonding and Interactions in High
Temperature Systems, Chapter 33, 1982, | 497-542 | 10.1021/bk-19820179.ch033
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