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Idaho is top pick for Energy Department nuclear test reactor
AP ^ | 19 Nov 2020 | Keith Ridler

Posted on 11/19/2020 5:20:31 PM PST by blueplum

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. government said Thursday that Idaho is its preferred choice ahead of Tennessee for a test reactor to be built as part of an effort to revamp the nation’s fading nuclear power industry by developing safer fuel and power plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy said in an email to The Associated Press that the site that includes Idaho National Laboratory will be listed as its preferred alternative in a draft environmental impact statement planned for release in December.

The Versatile Test Reactor, or VTR, would be the first new test reactor built in the U.S. in decades and give the nation a...

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: Idaho
KEYWORDS: doe; energyindependence; idaho; nuclearreactor; vtr
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projected to be operational by 2025
1 posted on 11/19/2020 5:20:31 PM PST by blueplum
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To: blueplum

A thorium reactor, I hope.


2 posted on 11/19/2020 5:23:36 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (You are in far more danger from an authoritarian government than you are from a seasonal virus.)
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To: blueplum

I’m for nuclear power but if you want to ensure that it’s safe build the prototype in Wash. DC.


3 posted on 11/19/2020 5:23:52 PM PST by TigersEye (2020 - The year of massive frauds. Impeachment - masks - lockdowns - Biden - elections...)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Of course it’s not a thorium reactor.

That wouldn’t be complicated enough.


4 posted on 11/19/2020 5:25:20 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (You are in far more danger from an authoritarian government than you are from a seasonal virus.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

‘Tennessine. Ornl.. hello?


5 posted on 11/19/2020 5:27:27 PM PST by momincombatboots (Ephesians 6... who you are really at war with)
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To: blueplum

Keep it out of Idaho. Several volcanos are threatening to erupt as is the Yellowstone caldera in next-door Montana. All that shaking would definitely blow up the nukes.
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/idaho.html


6 posted on 11/19/2020 5:37:06 PM PST by Veto! (Political Correctness Offends Me)
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To: Veto!
All that shaking would definitely blow up the nukes.

You're kidding right?

7 posted on 11/19/2020 5:48:09 PM PST by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: momincombatboots

“‘Tennessine. Ornl.. hello?”

First, work on nuclear energy is the best news I’ve heard in a long time.

Second, the reactor might be designed at ORNL in Oak Ridge, Tn.


8 posted on 11/19/2020 6:06:01 PM PST by cymbeline
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To: ElkGroveDan

Not kidding. My daughter lives in ID and I’m right next-door in Eastern WA.

There’s already an abandoned nuclear site in ID. I have driven past it. Seriously creepy and also seriously guarded. Some I or BLM creep could sneak in and plant explosives, blow it up. Prevailing winds would take nuclear waste right over my daughter’s house.

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/id-atomic-city/


9 posted on 11/19/2020 6:26:35 PM PST by Veto! (Political Correctness Offends Me)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“A thorium reactor, I hope.”

Duh, VERSATILE test reactor.

Because it generates neutrons at higher speeds than current testing facilities, VTR can perform tests for a broader range of nuclear energy technologies. VTR will conduct multiple experiments and tests simultaneously for multiple users and different technologies. This research will support development of advanced nuclear technologies, as well as the continued operation of the current fleet of nuclear reactors. VTR also could be used to conduct experiments supporting the production of medical isotopes used to treat cancer and other diseases.


10 posted on 11/19/2020 6:26:37 PM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Obviously above your paygrade.


11 posted on 11/19/2020 6:27:07 PM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: TexasGator

I defer to you. You’d be very familiar with things being above your paygrade.


12 posted on 11/19/2020 6:32:12 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (You are in far more danger from an authoritarian government than you are from a seasonal virus.)
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To: Veto!

Well you need to learn the difference between nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs - they are not the same. Nuclear reactors don’t “explode” and “shaking” causes them to shut down. Nuclear “explosions” are in fact among the most complicated reactions in modern science. It’s actually extremely difficult to create such an “explosion” with nuclear material. Shaking, banging, and breaking causes complicated machinery to fail. You can’t set one off with a hammer or dropping it on the ground. You’ve been watching too many liberal Hollywood movies.


13 posted on 11/19/2020 6:43:23 PM PST by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

That’’s odd

The reactors (plural) in Japan got shook up get before they **exploded**.

you know, like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haUawwm7l4k


14 posted on 11/19/2020 7:12:15 PM PST by ASOC (Having humility really means one is rarely humiliated)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I hope so too. I have been a fan of the Pebble Bed concept.


15 posted on 11/19/2020 8:38:25 PM PST by rlmorel ("Leftism is the plaything of a society with too much time on its hands." - Candace Owens)
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To: ASOC

The Jap reactors exploded because the tsunami flooded the back-up generators used to power the cooling systems.


16 posted on 11/19/2020 8:42:12 PM PST by Rebelbase (A COVID misanthrope.)
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To: Veto!

I would be surprised if the project did come to Idaho. We seem to be the forgotten state. Although we do have the facility for it at the INL. Would be a great “shot in the arm” for our side of the state.

As for volcanoes, when Yellowstone blows, we’ll all be history anyway. So, it is what it is. I live about 35 miles downwind from Atomic City, so if a nuke “goes off”, we’re still done. 🙄

Interestingly, I was on a Russian flight back in the late 90’s, and on the flight map where all the large cities are shown, Atomic City was listed with a star by it. I found that rather odd... almost seemed like a target.


17 posted on 11/19/2020 9:44:04 PM PST by Idaho gal
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To: Rebelbase

“The Jap(anese) reactors exploded because the tsunami flooded the back-up generators used to power the cooling systems.”

Well,AFAIK, GE decided to do it that way because they didn’t want to build cooling towers on one of the numerous nearby hills.

Remember how “this technology was SO safe that a meltdown couldn’t happen in a million years.”?

Well, now they’re still melting down after almost 10 years into the Pacific Ocean and it is unstoppable because the are underground rivers under the reactors flowing into the Pacific.

The reactors are SO radioactive that even robots melt trying to get near them to fix them. And this is only about 80 kilometres from Tokyo.


18 posted on 11/19/2020 10:24:18 PM PST by Concentrate (ex-texan was right and Always Right was wrong, which is why we lost the election. )
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To: ElkGroveDan

They don’t explode? Have a look

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fukushima+explosion+live


19 posted on 11/19/2020 10:34:33 PM PST by Concentrate (ex-texan was right and Always Right was wrong, which is why we lost the election. )
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To: blueplum

The only thing as ephemeral as promises of new nuclear energy is NASA returning to the moon. (Both are always 10 years away).


20 posted on 11/20/2020 3:01:43 AM PST by Tallguy (Facts be d@mned! The narrative must be protected at all costs!)
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