[Wonder Warthog]

The article doesn’t make clear whether this is a homogenous reactor, or keeps the coolant separated from the fuel.

Nor does the original source of the research:

http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2012/news120209.html

[Pontiac]

The concept offers promising answers to many questions about nuclear power—including proliferation, waste, safety, and start-up costs.

Some how this concept makes no sense to me considering that this reactor is small portable and designed to operate 15 to 30 years without refueling.

This long life core necessitates highly enriched Uranium or Plutonium fuel.

I checked out this analysis of the design and it shows that the core is between 78 and 83 percent enriched Uranium.

Design Analysis

That means that this fuel is pretty close to bomb grade fuel. Some creative engineer could probably make it go boom. It would be dirty but what does a terrorist care.

You ship this to a third world country and it would be an open invitation to terrorist to high jack the reactor and put the fuel to their purpose; be it holding it hostage or breaking it open and making a bomb.

[between_the_lines_mn]

Here is a link to the description of the Lead cooled nukes. They are solid fuel assemblies cooled by liquid lead. The Russians use a similar reactor in their nuclear subs..

http://www.gen-4.org/Technology/systems/lfr.htm