reactors posts, articles, and infographics

Underground Reactor Advantages

October 10, 2011 by Charles Barton
with 380 views

Underground sited. This scale was chosen so that the physical size allowed it to be factory manufactured and transported to the site,which is a significant potential cost reducer. . . .- John Rawls, Chief Scientist at General AtomicsFrom the dawn of the Nuclear era, Edward Teller was deeply concerned about reactor safety. Teller favored... [read more]

Are Safer Reactors Possible?

June 17, 2011 by Charles Barton
with 781 views

Critics of nuclear power argue that all reactors are inherently dangerous, and point to nuclear accidents such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima as evidence of the danger. The primary worry about nuclear power stems from the release of radioactive fission products, and other radioactive materials that are produced... [read more]

TEPCO Update 9 PM Tokyo time March 13

March 13, 2011 by Robin Carey
with 520 views

Thanks for this to Dan Yurman.... follows his up-to-the-minute tweets about Fukushima at @djysrv Unit 1(Shut down) - Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM. - We have been injecting sea water and... [read more]

Does Nuclear Energy Really Equate to Nuclear War?

January 5, 2011 by Charles Barton
with 1,230 views

In a previous post I looked at Mark Z. Jacobson's decision to exclude nuclear power as an future energy source in a recent paper. In that post I reviewed Jacobson's assertions that the global spread of nuclear generated electrical power would cause nuclear proliferation and nuclear war. In the course of my investigating of actual... [read more]

China’s spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plan to supply nuclear reactors?

January 3, 2011 by Dan Yurman
with 1,487 views

A state-run nuclear group may also be pursuing fast reactors The Associated Press and other wire services reported Jan 3 that China has begun to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. The technology, tested at the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) plant in the Gobi desert in remote Gansu province, enables the re-use of materials from irradiated... [read more]

China Bets Big on Nuclear Energy

December 2, 2010 by Joseph Koblich
with 1,001 views

Capacity planning targets keep going up By Dan Yurman The latest dizzying numbers for China’s planned construction of new nuclear reactors, released in early November by the country’s National Development & Reform Commission, soared to 114 GWe by 2020. Chinese nuclear energy officials later said that 80 GWe was a more likely target.... [read more]

Is Asia rising to dominate the global nuclear industry?

July 7, 2010 by Dan Yurman
with 2,913 views

A series of headlines reveals strong competition between Japan and South Korea for market share The Wall Street Journal reports July 6 that Japan is aligning its nuclear industry to support exports of nuclear reactors and to respond to the competitive threat from South Korea. Six companies are working under the umbrella of a government... [read more]

Is Nuclear Power Too Risky to Afford?

December 21, 2009 by Charles Barton
with 294 views

Currently anti-nuclear ideologues are touting the line that nuclear power is too expensive. But too expensive in what ways? Nuclear critics have pointed to a report by Citigroup Global Markets on Nuclear Risk Factors. It states: There are five substantial areas of risk faced by developers of new nuclear power stations. Three of those... [read more]

Carbon emissions and nuclear capable countries

November 7, 2009 by Barry Brook
with 297 views

Atoms for peace — uranium and thorium power. This is the fit and proper use of nuclear technology in the 21st century, as a means to generate enormous amounts of cheap, convenient, reliable, clean electrify to supply the burgeoning needs of an energy-hungry and carbon-overloaded world. Yet there is no denying that nuclear... [read more]

Small is Beautiful, Even for Nuclear Fission Reactors

September 30, 2009 by Rod Adams
with 292 views

E. F. Schumacher published a book titled Small is Beautiful in 1973 that has become one of the reference sources for ecologists and people interested in living on a human scale. In part, that book was inspired by the steady trend in the post-war era in which Schumacher lived towards building bigger and bigger companies that produced... [read more]

UAE nuclear deal faces Congress

April 26, 2009 by Dan Yurman
with 362 views

If the US turns them down, other countries will supply the reactors The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is getting ready to make its case with Congress to acquire nuclear reactor technologies according to a report by the Associated Press. At the heart of the debate is whether a country that counts Iran as one of its major trading... [read more]

Proliferating Nonsense

February 8, 2009 by William Tucker
with 110 views

It has often been said that declining aristocracies spend all their time reliving the glories of the past. I can think of no better example than American environmentalism's obsession that abstaining from nuclear power in this country will prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world.Get into a debate with any anti-... [read more]