Issues for the electric utilities posed by DT tokamak fusion powerplants

Summary form only given. The DT tokamak is the mainline approach to magnetic fusion energy in all industrialized countries with a major commitment to fusion research. It is argued that it has achieved this status largely through historical accident and not as the result of a considered choice among alternatives. The author inquires whether the path down which the tokamak concept is leading the fusion community is the way to an acceptable powerplant for the electric utilities, or an aberration which should be replaced with an approach more promising in the long term. Problems surrounding the DT tokamak are considered in three broad areas: (1) physics, (2) safety/environmental and (3) engineering/economic