That would give proponents and opponents of reviving FFTF a chance to make their cases in public, Apley noted. Tritium boosts the explosive power of nuclear bombs. The FFTF Standby Project's report notes that a tritium-only mission would politically sink the reactor. And earlier reports noted the FFTF needs the tritium mission to financially get on its feet to produce medical isotopes in financially viable amounts later. The idea is the tritium mission would eventually phase out while the isotope mission gradually increases - which makes the concept palatable to Washington's political leaders.
Critics charge the isotope mission is a political smoke screen to boost the tritium mission.
The FFTF Standby Project's study concludes the reactor can produce about one kilogram of tritium annually for its first two years, easily kicking up to 1.5 kilograms a year after that. It is unknown how much of that would meet the nation's need for tritium. But the FFTF has not been proposed as the primary tritium source. Rather it is proposed as a backup or interim source as DOE either converts a commercial reactor or builds an accelerator in the South to be the primary source. The FFTF could go on line as a tritium producer a few years faster than the other two.