I wrote:
> If there is radiation obviously it will need many more years to establish > the exact nature of the radiation, to develop a theory, and to have the > theory checked and accepted by the majority of physicists so that we can be > sure the radiation is controlled or fully prevented in a commercial device. > Rossi cannot do this himself. He is not a physicist. Even if he has physicists on his staff and they have been working with the machine for a year, they cannot accomplish this working in isolation. Assuming there is significant radiation -- Hundreds of physicists will need to install devices and look at the radiation. They will need to develop theories, and then reach a consensus that the theories are right. Then engineers will develop proven methods of controlling or fully preventing the radiation. The ASME will issue standards describing how to implement these methods. There will be monitoring instruments and tests to ensure the reactors are safe, similar to the tests and carbon monoxide detectors we use to ensure that combustion space heating furnaces in houses are safe. This will take several years and it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. However, once this job is done, and cold fusion reactors are widely sold commercially, it will save hundreds of millions of dollars every hour. So the cost of doing this is utterly trivial compared to the benefits of cold fusion. It will not matter. It is nothing to be concerned about at this stage. I do not see why Rossi or Industrial Heat would worry about any of this. Naturally they must acknowledge it, and deal with it. There is no way to hide it! This is like acknowledging that gasoline powered automobiles sometimes burn and explode. That does not mean we cannot have gasoline automobiles. It means we have to take steps to minimize the risk. If the reactors produce radioactivity, that will slow down commercialization but I do not think it will prevent it. It will add to the cost of research and development, but only by a tiny amount of money: perhaps a dollar to the cost of each reactor sold in the first 10 years of cold fusion. After 100 years it will be a tiny fraction of a penny. I do not understand why any of this would "put Rossi in a very difficult spot with NRC and FDA regulation and licensing . . ." There is no reason why his situation would be any more difficult than a company that makes x-ray machines, smoke detectors, or medical instruments that use radioisotopes. - Jed
