A nice overview of the international Gen IV nuclear systems effort.

[NNadir]

Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present generation while enhancing the ability of future generations to meet society’s needs indefinitely into the future. In this roadmap, sustainability goals are defined with focus on waste management and resource utilization. Other factors that are commonly associated with sustainability, such as economics and environment,a are considered separately in the technology roadmap to stress their importance. Looking ahead to the findings of this roadmap, the benefits of meeting sustainability goals include:

• Extending the nuclear fuel supply into future centuries by recycling used fuel to recover its energy content, and by converting 238U to new fuel

• Having a positive impact on the environment through the displacement of polluting energy and transportation sources by nuclear electricity generation
and nuclear-produced hydrogen.

• Allowing geologic waste repositories to accept the waste of many more plant-years of nuclear plant operation through substantial reduction in the amount of wastes and their decay heat

• Greatly simplifying the scientific analysis and demonstration of safe repository performance for very long time periods (beyond 1000 years), by a
large reduction in the lifetime and toxicity of the residual radioactive wastes sent to repositories for final geologic disposal.

Competitive Nuclear Energy

Economics goals broadly consider competitive costs and financial risks of nuclear energy systems...

http://gif.inel.gov/roadmap/pdfs/gen_iv_roadmap.pdf

Many detailed descriptions of the reactor types selected and research needs are included.

[BeFree]

1. Now there's a bushco policy

Greatly simplifying the scientific analysis

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[BeFree]

3. Say what?

Seems like you'd want to nuke me, if you had half a chance.

What I am saying is that anyone who wants to simplify scientific analysis is like someone who says there is no human induced global warming.

Same idiots, different story.

[Name removed]

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[BeFree]

5. No...

I am trying to make clear, in this crisis, the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of simplifying scientific analysis.

[drm604]

6. You're misunderstanding what "simplify" means in this context.

They are not talking about doing some kind of slipshod analysis.

What they are talking about is making it easier to do a complete and proper analysis by reducing the amount, toxicity, and lifetime of the waste.

Less waste that is less toxic and that has a shorter half-life means that it doesn't have to be contained in the repository as long (due to the reduced half-life and lower toxicity) and that it will be easier to contain (due to the reduced heat). Because of the reduction in the necessary containment time, and the increase in the ease of containment, a proper analysis is easier to do.

We can argue about whether or not this plan will work (I need a little more convincing), but this plan is not advocating slipshod analysis.

[BeFree]

7. Ok, I see that now

Thanks for the non-kneejerk reply.

[drm604]

8. You're welcome.

Happy to be of service. We've all gotten so used to the right-wing attack on science that we see it in places where it isn't really occurring. It's very easy to do.