-
Yes I have seen the advocacy for Liquid Fluoride Thorium reactors and there are some apparent tantalizing advantages over current Uranium reactor designs like ability to burn plutonium as a starter fuel, less production of transuranics, higher fuel burn efficiencies, etc.
FORBES: The Future of Nuclear Power: Cheaper and Safer?
-
Current designs can produce two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume and without any drawbacks (some models produce methane as a by-product, this tech does not).
FORBES: Better Than A Kite In A Thunderstorm: The New Science Of Generating Zap From Trash
-
But disputes, like the current argument about whether North Korea gets a light-water reactor as part of a deal for dismantling its weapons program, have happened before, and as of now the six-party negotiations scheduled to resume in November appear to be still on.
NPR: U.S. Loses Its Edge in Nuclear Talks
-
The failure of diesel generators, which power water pumps that are critical to reactor cooling systems, was a leading cause of the current crisis.
WSJ: Japan Plant Had Troubled History
-
In addition, the company chose to build its cooling facility at a lower elevation than its reactor, a decision that has played a significant role in the current disaster.
FORBES: Did Management Problems at TEPCO Cause Japan's $15B Radiation Leak?
-
The containment dome of the first reactor is designed to withstand pressures of only 7 pounds per square inch, compared with 50 psi in American-style reactors, leaving the Juragua dome exponentially weaker than an American reactor even in the event that the dome functions perfectly as designed, an unlikely prospect in the current situation.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A Chernobyl reminder just off our shores