From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Mon Feb 24 2003 - 14:49:42 MST
On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> I really have to dispute this, Robert. WHile I'm no nuclear scientist,
> my dad did design and build the core of a breeder reactor built in the
> 1960's at Hanford for weapons materials production.
Point granted, you obviously may know more about this since I've only
lived in Washington since ~'83.
> Breeder reactors can either produce OR eliminate nuclear material
> depending on how you tune them.
Point also granted. But they are *very* blunt tools for this job
(if they weren't it seems likely we wouldn't have all those storage
tanks out at Hanford...).
I believe that the problem may relate to the fact that one has
to provide protons/neutrons at specific energies to optimally
transmute radioactive isotopes (this is related to their neutron
stopping/absorption effeciencies I think).
So there are two problems with nuclear waste:
(a) separation -- ideally you want to *only* be dealing with the
radioactive isotopes. I don't see this being solved until we
have real nanotech and molecular sorting (Nanosystems 13.2.2,
Nanomedicine VI Section 3.4.2) or molecular weighing
(Nanomedicine 4.4.3 [single proton Massometers].
and
(b) transmutation -- which optimally involves tuning the energy
of the transmuting (neutrons/protons) to match the absorption
of the isotope being transmuted.
I think (b) is why the Los Alamos people have been leaning in the
direction of accelerators rather than breeder reactors. (Control of the
energy levels (e.g. energy/neutron) in accelerators I believe can be
much more finely tuned.)
It still however doesn't solve the separation problem which
is (I believe) why we still have places like Hanford.
> You had one there for a while... I can show you pictures of the core
> being assembled if you like, complete with pictures of my dad looking
> like Homer Simpson with sideburns, a lab coat, and clipboard looking
> on.... ;)
Bring them to a future Extro Conf. I would certainly enjoy looking
at them. And I'm sure many others would be interested in seeing
a "real" breeder reactor.
> Yet where are the French storing their waste? Certainly not the way we
> are right now.
Let us be specific so we don't do hand waving. There are two types of
"waste". Spent fuel rods and radioactive materials from decommissioning
plants.
I suspect the French may be reprocessing the fuel rods [though I am not
sure -- this requires an expert opinion of someone really familiar with
the French situation.] It seems unlikely that they are storing them
the way the utilities in the U.S. are -- something that creates a
significant terrorist hazard.
The "decommissioning" problem is one that I suspect they haven't
had to deal with (significantly) yet because (most?) of the plants
haven't reached the end of their useful lives. But it does really
press on (a/b) above.
Robert
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