Reply To: T-shirt designers unite and take over

[Brian H]

Rematog wrote: Brian,

To me, your comment on the “Iron Law of Bureaucracy” supports my position that Focus Fusion will be carefully regulated in the initial deployment stage. It will take time to (force the) change to the way the NRC does things.

“Carefully regulated” implies linkage between actual risk and controls. Most of what you’ve described is horrific overkill, based on pacifying misconceptions and applying inappropriate models. That is characteristic of functionaries who regulate to maximize regulations, from which they derive influence and job security.

The cost burden of what you describe would multiply the running cost of the reactors and hence power cost. That’s where I see leverage against over-regulation: the financial penalties to users are not a few dozen percent markup, they are 100s of % markup. That’s not something heavy hitters will take lying down — and public awareness would be fairly readily attracted to that kind of impact.

We’ll see. I hope!