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Report Finds That ‘Advanced’ #Nuclear Reactor Designs Are No Better Than Current Reactors—and Some Are Worse

Proposed Non-Light-Water Reactors Not Clearly Safer and Will Likely Take Decades to Achieve Reliable Commercial Operation

Published Mar 18, 2021
Union of Concerned Scientists

"One of the proposed sodium-cooled fast reactors, #TerraPower’s 345 megawatt #Natrium, has received considerable media attention recently because TerraPower founder #BillGates has been citing it during interviews about his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. In mid-February, Gates told 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper that the #Natrium reactor will produce less waste and be safer than a conventional light-water reactor.

"In fact, according to the #UCS report, sodium-cooled fast reactors such as the Natrium would likely be less '#uranium-efficient.' They would not reduce the amount of #NuclearWaste that requires long-term isolation in a geologic repository. They also could experience safety problems that are not an issue for light-water reactors.

"Sodium coolant, for example, can burn when exposed to air or water, and a sodium-cooled fast reactor could experience uncontrollable power increases that result in rapid core melting.

“'When it comes to safety and security, sodium-cooled fast reactors and molten salt-fueled reactors are significantly worse than conventional light-water reactors,' says Dr. #EdwinLyman.
'High-temperature, gas-cooled reactors may have the potential to be safer, but that remains unproven, and problems have come up during recent fuel safety tests.'"

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