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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-28/china-thorium-molten-salt-nuclear-reactor-energy/100351932
Scientists in China are about to turn on for the first time an experimental reactor that's believed by some to be the Holy Grail of nuclear energy — safer, cheaper and with less potential for weaponisation.
Construction on the thorium-based molten salt reactor was expected to be finished this month with the first tests to begin as early as September, according to a statement from the Gansu provincial government.
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China Set to Begin First Trials of Thorium Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor
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(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 29 2021, @07:52AM (2 children)
Anti-nuclear bullshit.
"(half life: 15.7 million years)" which would have a radiation level so low you would need a damn good lab to detect it. Fission products are either highly radioactive OR long-lived, you don't get both.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 29 2021, @04:43PM (1 child)
But you still don't want it hanging around your thyroid gland for a decade.
(Score: 4, Informative) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday August 29 2021, @07:50PM
we live surrounded by radioactive isotopes and other radiation sources. Ever hear of "Background radiation"?
Fun factoid;
Short lived isotopes are the most dangerous, they tend to emit a LOT of radiation in a very short time. Iodine-123 has a half life of ~13 hours, enough of it will give you radiation poisoning which will kill you long before you could get cancer from it. Since it concentrates in the Thyroid gland it can be dangerous, it's why you hear about iodine tablets after a nuke accident. It is also used in Thyroid cancer treatment. Can make the patient so radioactive for a week that almost everything they come in contact with is considered "low grade nuclear waste"
Long lived isotopes, like U233 and the others mentioned might put out a gamma ray photon or neutron every so often but unless you had a LOT of it in your body you would likely be dead long before enough of had decayed to endanger you within your lifetime.
Most of the deaths from radiation exposure after Chernobyl that you hear about were people who worked close to the still active melted core, it wasn't the long lived isotopes that killed them, it was high energy neutrons being spit out by the continued fission events in Uranium fuel. MSRs won't do that, if the fuel gets spread out it stops fissioning, and since it's a liquid it would naturally spread out in the event of a big leak. And since it needs a moderator, usually carbon rods, once it was away from those the fission would stop.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."