Re: for the close of all fission nuclear reactor in the world


"Terence" <tbwright@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:76acdb5c-ca87-43ae-8420-cc3e0959a3f5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Feb 25, 11:11pm, "cr88192" <cr88...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

the major problem though is that, in the US at least (worse in Europe AFAIK)
people have this strange fear of nuclear power, and actually end up using
one of the worst possible reactor designs (U-235 burning light-water
reactors), which both burn a fairly rare element, produce lots of waste, and
in countries with a government too damn scared to make fuel reprocessors.

now, what if we had U-238 burning breeder reactors?...
well then, both cost, and waste, would be far lower than at present.

Agreed. The problem here is public impression that breeder reactors
are more open to terrorist theft of radioactives.
I don't see why; you can't just scoop up some Plutonium and pop it
into a bag.

yes, or at least, it would be funny to see them try...

of course, I guess it could be possible, if some of the people involved were effectively willing to go on a suicide mission to get it, and even then, that is assuming they can get access to the reactor core, and can manage to steal said fuel rods (and, after all this, have the technology to isolate the plutonium from the U-238...).

it would likely be much easier for said terrorists to buy said plutonium from the PRC or russia or something...


.

Relevant Pages

  • North Koreas nuclear factory hits snags
    ... of plutonium a year, says Siegfried Hecker, a metallurgist and former ... "The reactor is operating," Hecker told a forum sponsored by the Korean ... Yongbyon facility, North Korea's only known nuclear reactor. ...
    (soc.culture.korean)
  • @@ North Korea rushes to finish 50 MW reactor @@
    ... North Korea Rushes To Finish Reactor ... Increased Plutonium Capacity Could Enhance Bargaining Position at Talks ... Siegfried Hecker, along with Stanford University scholar John W. Lewis ...
    (soc.culture.iranian)
  • Re: US: Broken satellite will be shot down
    ... Where this plutonium reactor will fall is unknown at this ... any government with a hand in this has plausible denial. ... possible Western target country. ...
    (rec.aviation.military)
  • Re: On 8/1945 A-Bombs
    ... And if pure U-238 were put in a reactor, could plutonium be ... (Assuming that natural uranium or some other material ... both grades can be used in implosion bombs. ...
    (soc.history.war.world-war-ii)
  • Re: UNUSED URANIUM, PLUTONIUM, etc.
    ... As plutonium goes from "room ... the fuel rod had changed dimensions ... Plutonium was part of the fuel cycle of the very first reactor ever ... Plutonium oxide, the usual form of fuel, is a ceramic. ...
    (sci.chem)