Recent events in Japan have made the public more fearful of nuclear energy; yet, with oil surging in price, many are not ready to give up on cheap energy. If only nuclear power could be safe! But wait, Helium 3 might be the answer we have all been looking for.
Imagine if, instead of prospecting, the ’49ers had been able to dig around their old outhouses for gold. If this sounds too fantastic, then consider this: Helium 3 is estimated to be worth over 100 times more then gold and is a natural by-product of waste. Not human waste, unfortunately, but nuclear waste.
Helium 3, a light non-radioactive isotope produced when tritium decays, is considered the answer to the world’s quest for safe, affordable, clean energy. Tritium is a hydrogen isotope, with a 12 year half-life, used in phosphorescent night lights and watch faces. Tritium is also found in old nuclear weapons from the cold war; this is the largest source.
Why is Helium 3 so expensive? It’s rare, for one thing, and is used in radiation detectors, for another but most importantly it is wanted for its possible value in nuclear fusion, a process which produces no nuclear waste.