Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Comment/debate › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Comment/debate › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Thorium fuel has risks
AU - Ashley, Stephen
AU - Parks, Geoff
AU - Nuttall, Bill
AU - Boxall, Colin
AU - Grimes, Robin
PY - 2012/12/5
Y1 - 2012/12/5
N2 - Thorium is being touted as a potential wonder fuel. Proponents believe that this element could be used in a new generation of nuclear-power plants to produce relatively safe, low-carbon energy with more resistance against potential nuclear-weapons proliferation than uranium. Although thorium offers some benefits, we contend that the public debate is too one-sided: small-scale chemical reprocessing of irradiated thorium can create an isotope of uranium that could be used in nuclear weap-ons, raising proliferation concerns.
AB - Thorium is being touted as a potential wonder fuel. Proponents believe that this element could be used in a new generation of nuclear-power plants to produce relatively safe, low-carbon energy with more resistance against potential nuclear-weapons proliferation than uranium. Although thorium offers some benefits, we contend that the public debate is too one-sided: small-scale chemical reprocessing of irradiated thorium can create an isotope of uranium that could be used in nuclear weap-ons, raising proliferation concerns.
KW - thorium
KW - nuclear fuel
KW - proliferation
U2 - 10.1038/492031a
DO - 10.1038/492031a
M3 - Comment/debate
VL - 492
SP - 31
EP - 33
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7427
ER -