Fusion has the reputation for being a relatively safe and clean energy source, but care has to be taken in the design in order to approach this ideal.

Safety assessments considering the potential affects on operating staff as well as members of the public therefore form an integral part of the design of ITER.

By this means ITER should already show the promise of fusion, to the extent possible given that:

• it is an experiment, requiring the possibility to explore for the most interesting operating regimes, taking account of the possible consequences of such operation;
• it relies on structural materials and technologies qualified for use in nuclear plants today.