Fusion Power plant cooling ponds

[kilemall]

If the water is exposed to the operating side of the fusion plant and a neutron flux from it, then it's OMFG dangerous. Otherwise, probably not.

How about it was placed there with an original lotech fission plant, then it got upgraded to a fusion plant but the pond was left there through institutional inertia for emergency fuel and firefighting. Only some horrible cheap flaw will make it dangerous under a bad combination of circumstances.

Never assume malice when plain stupidity will cover occams razor.

 

[Enoki]

How about it was placed there with an original lotech fission plant, then it got upgraded to a fusion plant but the pond was left there through institutional inertia for emergency fuel and firefighting. Only some horrible cheap flaw will make it dangerous under a bad combination of circumstances.

Never assume malice when plain stupidity will cover occams razor.

Even if it were a pond for shielding spent fission fuel, it'd probably be safe to swim in. Only what's called "primary water," that is water that is run through the reactor to make steam or for cooling is going to be radioactive and even then, only for about two weeks after which it's safer than seawater. The only way it could be really dangerous is if spent fuel, fission fragments or other solid, long-lived, radioactive were dissolved into it. Solid contaminants would settle out after a while.

Now, there could be additives in the water... Those would be there for pH balance, corrosion control, or the like, and those even if they aren't radioactive might be poisonous or otherwise harmful to ingest or be in contact with.

For example, let's say potassium permanganate were added for corrosion control. This would make the water a wonderful 'Caribbean blue' color. The problem is once you go swimming it will stain your skin PDQ to a very dark brown color that looks wrong... Surprise! It's also poisonous so you could end up sick and vomiting from it if you take in enough. It has other uses, but if used in the pond to control bacteria and 'pond scum' along with limiting corrosion on the stored materials, it could be present.