Quote Originally Posted by Ironside
Fusion reactors aren't dangerous for the radiation factor, the radiation is relativly low and the most radioactive parts will be the reactor walls after years of use. The problematic stuff is that the plasma will instantly vaporize anything that it'll come in contact with, until it has cooled down.
Actually, that is exactly how a nuke works. A nuke is simply a fusion reaction unleashed by use of an atomic detonation. Essentially, you strap an A-bomb on a nuke so it can start the chain reaction, which then immediately gets out of control. The residual radiation is from the detonator.

So, we've got the fusion thing down, now only to figure out how to control it properly to prevent ourselves blowing chunks out of the planet every now and then.