Most Americans think "conventional nuclear reactors" are Very Dangerous Bad No-good Rotten things.
Stupidity and ignorance abound.
Because Jane Fonda. Or something.
Actually, I feel like those are safe, but...having studied them on my own as both an exercise in the Human UI to control them, and the possible failure points, any kind of pressurized reactor is inherently capable of a catastrophic steam explosion, even with all the safety features built in.
The one they they have never built in is a thing that slaps the human hand as it reaches for a control to do something they shouldn’t do.
Because most of the times, even if we didn’t cause the underlying problem, what we do to try to “fix” it can be catastrophic.
I hope I didn’t give the impression that I was one of those weenies, but I completely stand by my observation that Thorium reactors can be made to be FAR safer with fewer built in safeguards that might fail or be mal-adjusted by a human.
If you have never read it, a fantastic book is: “Atomic Accidents” by James Mahaffey.
Besides being hugely informative, it is extraordinarily entertaining to read. (I have purchased this book as a gift for like minded people who even have a peripheral involvement in radiation...)
Like I said in my post above, I have a degree in Chemistry and Nuclear Medicine, but was also involved in Aviation, and what struck me from reading that book and recalling publications I was able to read in the US Navy regarding aviation mishap investigations, there is a lot of similarity between aviation accidents and nuclear accidents, and those similarities almost always involve flawed human intervention!
I have actually never seen that Jane Fonda movie “The China Syndrome” for the same reason I never watched “The Day After”...should I take time to watch it? (or will it make me grit my teeth?)