Thorium Energy Security Act of 2022
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2022
- Thorium Molten-Salt Reactors run optimally with Uranium-233 seed fissile. DOE is destroying America's supply (and the world's largest single supply) of U-233.
Senator Tommy Tuberville and Senator Dr. Roger Marshall have introduced the "Thorium Energy Security Act of 2022"
It is very short and readable...
www.congress.gov/bill/117th-c...
Here is a sample (sections 7, 8 and 9)...
SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION ON PRESERVATION AND TRANSFER OF URANIUM-233.
The Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Army (including the head of the Army Reactor Office), the Secretary of Transportation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other relevant agencies shall-
(1) work together to preserve uranium-233 inventories and expedite transfers of uranium-233 to interim and permanent storage facilities; and
(2) in expediting such transfers, seek the assistance of appropriate industrial entities.
SEC. 8. REPORT ON USE OF THORIUM REACTORS BY PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator for Nuclear Security, shall submit to Congress a report that-
(1) evaluates the progress the People’s Republic of China has made in the development of thorium-based reactors;
(2) describes the extent to which that progress was based on United States technology;
(3) details the actions the Department of Energy took in transferring uranium-233 technology to the People's Republic of China; and
(4) assesses the likelihood that the People's Republic of China may employ thorium reactors in its future navy plans.
SEC. 9. REPORT ON MEDICAL MARKET FOR ISOTOPES OF URANIUM-233.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with institutions of higher education and private industry conducting medical research and the public, shall submit to Congress a report that estimates the medical market value, during the 10-year period after the date of the enactment of this Act, of actinium, bismuth, and other grandchildren isotopes of uranium-233 that can be harvested without downblending and destroying the uranium-233 source material.
...works for me!
The 2008 IG U-233 report Secretary Granholm has not (yet) read is here:
www.energy.gov/sites/default/...
I think it is reasonable to ask (via Twitter) @SecGranholm to please read the report ASAP.
If you think saving U-233 from destruction is a-good-thing then contacting Sen. Tuberville and Sen. Dr. Marshall would be a good thing, as well as contacting your own representatives. - Наука та технологія
The legislation itself can be read at... www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4242/text ...and I really recommend everyone read it. Is only a few pages long, and some very exciting demands included in the bill. If you'd like to promote this message on social media (besides sharing this video itself) I've tweeted about it here.. twitter.com/gordonmcdowell/status/1529521481377796096 ...and think anyone boosting that tweet will have a positive impact.
here is an explanation of the Thorium Potential
from a Srikumar Banerjee | TEDxCERN
ua-cam.com/video/yGhEdcwXxdE/v-deo.html
You smell that Gordon? Oh, it's you because you're the 💩. Thank you for all you do. Kirk needs to get a chance to speak before Congress. He was given that 50 million a year instead of using it to dilute the U-233 we'd have a Thorium reactor operational.
Hey, have you heard anything from Kirk in a while? What’s he up to.
@@M0rmagil energyfromthorium.com/2022/05/18/thorium-act-released/
Stupid Liberals:
ua-cam.com/play/PL6JjafE5gsb928LkKNnz9MUiVBME4aGqi.html
She’s doing her job to keep the existing energy czars in place .
It is almost as if our government's primary concern is not safe and clean energy.
How many safe and clean energy lobbyists are out there? How many from the oil companies?
@@daniellarson3068 oil is a lot safer and cleaner than wood
@@SMacCuUladh What a strange response. I used to heat with wood. I'll bet Thorium energy is safer and cleaner than oil. My grandma used to heat with fuel oil. Not totally safe either. I did like the feel of those wood fires on a cold Winter night in the North woods. Interesting!
@@daniellarson3068 I like a nice log fire too, just making the point burning wood is more polluting that oil. And yes Thorium is better than oil and actually uses nuclear waste as fuel. I feel like there's some major corruption blocking it.
@@SMacCuUladh I think you are right. You probably already know the story. Thorium molten salt reactors were not so good for making atomic bombs. So the government money didn't follow up on perfecting it. Thanks for the response.
I just agreed with Senator Tuberville, something I never thought I would do. This is THAT important!
So true, when an ally and an opponent agree that's not something to be ignored.
Thank you. This is the kind of 'critical thinking' that more people (not just in the U.S., but worldwide) should be practicing, especially in terms of politics and voting. It's all too easy to simply choose a "side", for lack of a better term, and in doing so, begin automatically dismissing anyone that isn't on the same side. Keep your mind open, and listen to people that you typically don't usually agree with. It's okay to listen to, and even and vote for, politicians with whom you disagree on some policies, but agree on others. It's easier said than done, I know, but we should all be trying.
Right? Agreed!
Yea, I think pigs are flying.
How on earth did he get into politics speaking sensible stuff like that ????
I thought the politics intelligence filter would have had him barred !!!
OMG if ever we needed more people like him speaking practical common
sense
In 2015 Senator Ted Cruz invited a small group of libertarian-minded political activists in Iowa to a round table to discuss his possible presidential candidacy.
We were allowed to ask ONE question each.
I asked if he was familiar with the thorium MSR and the problem with thorium "contaminating" rare earth minerals vital to our tech industries and national security.
Of course he wasn't (even though there had been a bill addressing this and he was on the Senate's science committee) but he gave me a business card and invited me to email him with more information.
I sent him what I thought was an informative but concise email with links to websites and some of Gordon's videos.
Of course I never heard back from Cruz or his aide.
Thorium should be a non-partisan political issue. No-brainer.
Bless you for trying. Would you be willing to provide some of those links for our own edification?
Good for you for trying, I suggest perhaps sending a follow up reminder mail to the same address, he may have new staffers now. I have done the same to many politicians and sometimes I have to send a follow up to get a response.
Apparently it is a partisan issue in every country in the world as no commercial Thorium reactors exists after 70 years of nuclear power and many many test with this isotope
Thanks for providing this update to the ongoing question of whether Sec. Granholm has yet read the 2008 report. We all hold out hope she can fit it into her schedule.
underrated comment
Who is responsible for keeping us over the barrel with respect to energy? Follow the money...
Clean energy is required to ensure the future is liveable, it is literally that important.
This is great. Thanks for everything you have done and do, Gordon. An American hero regardless of the outcome.
We need more Republicans like Senator Tommy Tuberville and Senator Dr. Roger Marshall
I was extremely surprised to see a Republican looking at this in terms of the global warming thing. Wow! If it wasn't for global warming, I'd have thought hell froze over.
They are, the media just don't cover it. Republicans bad remeber. They tend to be more pro Nuclear than democrats. But democrats good.
@@Christoph1888 Both do what their money masters tell them Republicans used to be more pro nuclear. I think their oil company masters have the hands on the leash.
@@Christoph1888 You can be in "DENIAL" all you want - but decency and decorum - died in the Republican Party - when McCain died.
@@LevAgency lol
It took them 50 years and only when the Chinese built to come up with good efficiency and save nuclear power. They could have had it 50 years ago.
The question is who hindered it this long.?
Bravo! Sens. Tuberville and Marshall. Real, sensible policy making.
Sec. Granholm is stalling and as she said that she is aware of Thorium molten salt reactors.
People like herself needs to be investigated ,and if found guilty of any misdoing or backdoor politics she should be de seated right now . These people are holding our country from being energy independent all for the in place energy czars.
…to obey the oil company's interests? 🤔Or the ARAB ones? Or vlADOLF puTLER? 😡
What I don't get is how could you possibly be aware of MSRs and yet not promote the idea at all? They have such obvious incredible potential it is difficult to not become almost evangelist about it, sounds to me that she and her friends are either balls deep in a bunch of stocks related to what they are doing or she doesn't really know too much about it.
Terrapower is building a MSR but has no interest in Thorium. I guess the government should FORCE private business to do what you believe in
My heart sings when i hear American politicians talking about thorium and molten salt thorium reactors. It is never too late...
Thank God someone actually mentioned this .
I love it, S 4242 . 42, in the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy that’s the answer to the biggest question. How fitting. Call your elected representatives today.
For those of us that read the answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything else is fourty-two.
PLEASE POST THIS EVERYWHERE!!! PEOPLE NEED TO SEE AND HEAR THIS!!!!
MAXIMUM REPOST!!! #PromoteThorium
Thorium is the safe, stable backbone of our GRID... and our green future...
here is an explanation of the Thorium Potential
from a Srikumar Banerjee | TEDxCERN
ua-cam.com/video/yGhEdcwXxdE/v-deo.html
The fact that this had not been addressed yet is a testament to how everything in the United States had been politicized. I live about 30 minutes from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and have been to the onsite Museum of Science and Energy. (Great place to take kids by the way) and because of the proximity to the Tennessee Valley, most locals assume that hydroelectric is our best source of clean energy. Don't get me wrong, hydro is good but it has nowhere near the upside of a molten salt reactor system. We have got to educate the people about this issue and then demand Congress get things in motion.
No, we can fund it privately. Ask me how...
I don't understand why we have not been putting more resources into figuring out how to harness this energy? Surely there are complications with implimentation and economics that get glossed over by the pro-thorium crowd, but there are also a lot of factors going for it, and overall seems to make a lot of sense. It isn't the pipe dream and money pit that fusion has become ... This is tangible and something we can actually do now, and I don't think renewables + batteries will be quite enough (though they are already doing an impressive job). Is there something I am missing? This seems like one of the most sensible future energy goals we should be striving to achieve.
If it had any possibility of success investors would be investing in it
Thank goodness.
Thanks for bringing this to us.
OMG, this is such good news!
Yes!
Thanks!
Thorium molten salt reactor is the holy grail of energy.. you solve this, and the clean world with no bombs, is yours.
LFTR uses/makes weapons grade U233 promoting nuclear proliferation. It is illegal for commercial use and abhored by the military as too complex with dual on-line pyro-reprocessing
@@EdPheil Spot on Ed. The biggest issue is public awareness and education, and secondly, willingness of countries to give up their existing bombs.
Thank you Gordon for being a stalwart in providing on going info about the thorium reactors and all of these issues
Another good video from Mr. Mcdowell.
One thing you neglected to point out is that a so called thorium reactor. Not only runs on U 233 but also produces it. Such a reactor can make more fuel than it uses. Thorium is a fertile material from which it is possible to breed U 233. There is no natural source of U 233 but there is a vast amount of thorium. Right now thorium is a nuisance byproduct of mining operations. In fact it is interfering with our production of rare earth materials. We need to preserve our remaining U233 and build a place to stockpile thorium while it is so cheap that this facility would actually be paid to take it. One pound of thorium can produce fuel with the equivalent energy of one million pounds of gasoline and there is a lot of it.
Ps thorium releases the same amount of radon no matter where it is, so the fear is unfounded. In fact if it was in storage the radon could be captured and confined while it rapidly decays.
It is possible to built a thermal spectrum reactor that create a bit more U-233 than it consumes (as Shippingport did), but "The" Thorium Reactor (LFTR) will not. The neutron economy is too tight, with graphite and Hastelloy and the salts themselves all absorbing some neutrons. Dedicated reactors are needed to create U-233 to seed the fleet, likely fast-spectrum reactors converting used PWR fuel into energy and U-233.
Upside to this is The Thorium Reactor shouldn't be seen as a proliferation concern since it doesn't produce net fissile, and the fissile (U-233) it contains is required for operation.
@@gordonmcdowell Certainly it would be difficult to make a true breeder in the thermal spectrum but it is possible. Probably the most realistic proliferation deterrent is you won't really produce pure U233. Unless it is pure you will wind up with a decay chain that is unsuitable for weapons use. A high yield bomb isn't much good if you can't get close to it or hide it .
@@gordonmcdowell The Shippingport reactor was so sensitive to neutron loss that they had NO control rods. The reactor went critical by inserting fuel assemblies into the core and to shut down the reactor the fuel assemblies were pulled out against gravity. Do you realize how unsafe and insane that is? That could neve be acceptable today.
Jeezus we are so back asswards
Destroying valuable resources and
Promoting coal and oil 👌
The future is (was?) in our hands we invented it...
Holy shit 🤯
I can't even...🤦
No reason they can't expand the grid by having both types of nuclear reactors. Safer ones and less safe but war capable reactors as well.
I wouldn't describe conventional reactors as "war capable" the Plutonium created is a bad blend of isotopes for weapons. Too much Pu-240 and too little Pu-239. Certainly both Thorium Reactors and conventional reactors can be deployed, with conventional reactors creating (non-weapons-grade) Plutonium which can be converted into U-233 to seed a large fleet of Thorium Reactors. We are going to need a lot more energy in coming decades, and continued operation (and deployment) of PWR does not replace need for high-temperature and medical-isotope-producing Thorium Molten-Salt Reactors.
However, being able to create U-233 from conventional reactor used-fuel doesn't mean this existing stockpile isn't incredibly important. If there's no U-233 now... if it is destroyed... then a Thorium Reactor pilot will bottleneck on creation of U-233 from used fuel... which might never, ever, happen if there's no Thorium pilot to feed it into. (Chicken and egg... no U-233 if no Thorium Reactor, and no Thorium Reactor if no U-233.)
From what Secretary Granholm has said publicly, it seems that she is very much in favour of nuclear energy, so I do not understand the apparent stonewalling on this particular issue. I would be interested to hear any hypotheses that do not involve tinfoil hats.
Good work, Mr. McDowell, for bringing these things to light.
All the dems and almost all reps just voted for a bill the US cannot afford, 40 billion will now go to military companies under the guise of helping Ukraine, with no oversight or receipts about where the money is going. You don't have to be a tinfoil hat wearer to understand there is massive corruption at the highest levels of congress.
The existing nuclear industry has captured the regulatory system and used it to create a moat around their razors/razorblades business model. Nothing besides solid-fuel, water-cooled reactors like Fukushima or TMI can get regulatory approval here in the US.
@@bersig Yes, that might well be a big part of it, and persuading the DoE to downblend all the U233 would certainly be in their interest. One would have thought that the spectre of being out-paced by China on 4th generation technology would have greater sway with government than commercial lobbying, but maybe that relies on political appointees looking further than the next election.
@@bersig
The current US Regulatory system was put in place to kill nuclear and has never licensed a reactor that was built other than Naval Reactors!
the US requires a massive regulative overhaul or at least more state level autonomy/freedom. 45ths admin had the right idea.
Hey Gordon, do you or anyone remember which video is was that showed the room with the tubes of vitrified waste that had powered Paris(or France) over quite a few decades.
U233 Not war material. Finance the problem?
It is beyond time a grooup of states held up a 10tyh amendment single finger salute and just build a bunch of reactors since the bureaucrats are sitting on their hands.
This dude is like Uber cool
They suppressed the Thorium reactors back in the 1960's because it didn't produce the radio active isotopes they wanted for their bombs.
here is an explanation of the Thorium Potential
from a Srikumar Banerjee | TEDxCERN
ua-cam.com/video/yGhEdcwXxdE/v-deo.html
Exactly Right. We should have free energy by now.
This is a well-loved myth, politics killed the MSR project.
@@chapter4travels a myth? When was the MSR first built, and was it called one of the more important developments in our history? So what happened? The same thing that happened to Nicola Tesla, PERHAPS?
but all the "myths" aside - what did "kill" the MSR "project"?
P.S. MSR is not a PROJECT - MSR WAS A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETED DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY not by some conspiracy nuts - but by the US GOVERNMENT!!!
@@jfcrow1 maybe not FREE - but Cheap - Definitely.
Yeah man the dual fuel system using molten lead is designed for spacecraft. The molten metal actinide is more compact and has no corrosion problems that molten salts have.
I think we should welcome & promote all gen4 designs as long as they show promise
Molten chloride salt fast reactor (MCSFR) is one of the best option, not just for carbon-free energy, but also for burning away "nuclear waste", which is the worst problem of nuclear energy. Chloride salt is not best for breeding efficiency. But cheap, safe and well understood stuff than fluoride or lithium/beryllium. It simplifies reactor design and operation. Don't stick to "Thorium" fuel. To reducing nuclear waste, Uranium 233 fuel extracted from nuclear waste (spent fuel from PLWR) is better than using thorium fuel (let alone protactinium radiation) to persuade public opinion as waste burner.
There has never been an operating Chloride-Salt reactor. China choose thermal-spectrum FLiBe. I’m all in favor of fast-spectrum MSR but I think you are mixed up on where U-233 comes from… it is not produced in conventional reactors because conventional reactors are not fueled with Thorium. Thorium needs to be hit with a neutron to create U-233. This is very special material. Anyone keen on nuclear power can advocate for their preferred approach, but no one should be permanently destroying future options. Chloride salts face a similar isotopic challenge… the chloride needs to be a particular isotope or it will gobble up neutrons. (Sorry I forget which isotope.) if there was a stash of purified Chloride would you want thermal-spectrum advocates rushing to downblend it with road-salt?
I think you are confusing U233 with other isotopes. Natural uranium consists roughly of 0.7% U235, and the remainder is U238, with no U233. When a PWR or other nuclear reactor runs, it consumes mostly U235, and due to the neutrons generated in the reaction, some of the U238 becomes U239 which converts quickly to Pu239 (through beta decays). Further neutrons push that Pu239 into a mix of Pu240 and Pu241, etc but no U233 is made from a uranium reactor. It is an impossibility.
U233 comes from the same process (neutron absorption) that makes Pu239. But instead of U238 becoming Pu239 (and up), Th232 becomes U233. No thorium means NO U233. Since there has only been one case of a pure Th232 reactor, that decades-old experiment fuel is the only pure storehouse of U233 we now have. In addition, the U233 itself also decays, over a period of years and decades to produce tiny amounts of valuable isotopes such as Ac235, for medical use including cancer treatments.
Think about that... If our U233 (and its decay products) are destroyed, not only will you have no U233, but all of the decades spent waiting and having it decaying and producing VALUABLE isotopes would have to be redone all over again from scratch! These do NOT occur in nature in any accessible quantity. Until thorium reactors are everywhere, this is a HUGE issue and an incalculable loss.
@@LFTRnow Well said.
@@gordonmcdowell
There has never been a commerialisable non-weapons grade thermal fluoride reactor operated either. ARE & MSRE both cores used weapons grade fuel, illegal for commercial use. U233
@@EdPheil Congrats on your GAIN FY2022 Round 2 funding "Advanced Functional Membrane Testing for Noble Gas Management in a Molten Salt Reactor" would love to learn more but of course you blocked me on Twitter for suggesting some of your Tweets might impede EI's ability to secure gov funding. Looks like I was wrong.
Wow the penny is finally dropping...
When will S.4242 be tabled?.
The plan is not to replace with equal or better. The plan is less energy and a return to feudalism.
It needs an amendment promoting the development of thorium reactors. Simply setting aside a permanent disposal site, doing research on another country, and selling to the medical community is not enough.
As is, its not bad legislation. However as a permanent fix to disposal it technically does not clarify the intentions of the public to develop thorium reactors.
It kind of reads as if the current nuclear reactors will be instructed to go into higher production, without congress actually backing any thorium reactor development.
This needs fixed. A statement express stating "it is the intent to promote safe Thorium reactor development, construction, and use for the express purposes of energy generation, radioactive isotope disposal, and radioactive isotope refinement.".
Otherwise the writing just creates another dump and allows status quo to continue.
Why doesnt Elon Musk or Bill Gates invest in this technology? A great location would be at the Salton Sea in California where there is a operating Lithium plant.
I don't think Musk sees synergy with his current investments such as Solar City (now incorporated into Tesla) rather competition, though he has been speaking very strongly in support of nuclear this past year. (He's also asked NASA to pursue nuclear rockets, and I'd agree only Gov could do so.)
Bill Gates DOES invest in nuclear (TerraPower) and will be replacing a coal plant in Wyoming with a fast-spectrum solid-fuel sodium-cooled reactor, which features a molten-salt heat storage battery. TerraPower is also developing a fast-spectrum chloride-salt MSR.
Irreplaceable???? How???
It was produced by the thorium reactor in Oak Ridge, which doesn't exist anymore. Uranium reactors can't produce this isotope.
@@quinto190 common knowledge but how does this make it irreplaceable??
@@arjanwesselink3418 Currently it is.
@@quinto190 Agreed, but that is not what was said by the senator. He speaks of facts to make his point, so he should stick to facts.
There are very good reasons to keep this material as start-up fuel for LFTR's and for the medical isotopes it will contain.
I get the argument to save it, but keep the discussion to why this material is so valuable for cancer research etc.
0:20 Why hasn't India deployed them?
[crickets chirping]
Deployed what? Do you mean "Thorium reactors"? They are really U233 reactors and you need a fuel reprocessing capability to make the whole thing work properly. Unfortunately worldwide politicians control nuclear tech and they know nothing about it. There are also hysterical parties wh hate anything "nuclear" even though they know nothing about it. We all have fools and clowns preventing the development of safe, clean, efficient Thorium reactors.
@@robertoskeetrech3206 India has been trying to develop a Thorium fuel cycle for decades.
@@aliendroneservices6621 its not easy when your best and brightest get degree’s and fly off to the USA to work for 10x the salary and shop at whole foods.
Brain drain.
@@spoonikle its an awful thing
Thorium’s not cartel friendly, it’s hard to from a cartel around something that come from a mining waste pile for Rare earth magnet 🧲. Plus it’s a very poor choice for war mongering.
This is the only way I can try and make sense out of wilful nuclear dark ages we been kept in.
it is said that if you do no control a thing than you should destroy it.
You are not wrong but its not like it doesn't create a whole swathe of new opportunities for elites: domestic rare earths, desalination, monetises spent fuel etc etc. Yes they can't make nukes but is that really a massive concern given today's nuclear weapon stockpiles? I think its more just ignorance on their part.
Are we witnessing willful ignorance here?
At the time Oakridge tested a small design, time was not ripe because molten salt is exceedingly corrosive, and materials at that time was unsuitable. China took it up again when material science advanced sufficiently to make it viable, hopefully. China's experimental molten salt reactor should yield useful data later this year to see whether commercialisation is viable.
Hogwash, ORNL developed Hastalloy N, which China and Czechoslovakia copied for their MSR work.
Molten salt is LESS Corrosive than hot water in PWRs!
@@EdPheil If Molten Salt has no big corrosion problem, they would have been used extensively in conventional renewal energy storage too. The fact is that hot molten salt is hugely corrosive which is why no one has yet commercialised a molten salt reactor.
@@EdwinaTS Don't they use these salts in solar towers?
@@Scientist538 I was informed by an expert some years ago that molten salt in solar towers need replacing every few months. I also vaguely remember that an early solar molten salt solar power plant in California I think was making huge losses and got shut down. So I don't think, at least a few years back that the available material was yet suitable.
I wonder who on Tubberbille's staff is coaching him through this? No way in hell is that idiot coming up with this on his own.
Bless the staffer who has been briefing him. The staffer probably got into it because of Gordon's videos. We must make sure to keep speaking out loudly about this incredible technology, I always make sure to send emails to my representatives regarding MSRs/LFTR and thorium, we all need to do that whilst also spreading the message on our social media.
That's what staff are for, to get things done.