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RE: [cdn-nucl-l] Gas Cooled in Idaho
Randal Leavitt wrote,
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/business/11872974.htm
I found this article in 19 different newspapers today.
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I think its pretty remarkable that this article appeared in 19 different
newspapers.
It seems mostly intended to simply provide some very basic technical
information.
That in itself is good, IMO, as the public gets very little of this in the
media.
Being informed is a prerequisite (or should be) for making decisions - be it
in voting on development strategies of publicly-owned utilities, or simply
in public polls.
My only gripe is with a few ambiguous or mis-statements in the article
(which appeared in 19 different newspapers !!).
It states that "These reactors use ordinary water to slow, or moderate, the
fission process...."
In fact the water slows or moderates neutrons, not the fission process. The
more effective a moderator is at slowing down the neutrons, without
absorbing them, the more efficient the fission process. (one could argue
though, that moderators "slow the fission process" relative to an
un-moderated fast-neutron, metal or gas-cooled reactor....)
It states that "General Electric's ESBWR: This has a 1,500 megawatt boiling
water design, meaning the cooling water is not under pressure....."
In fact the cooling water is under high pressure, just not as high as in a
PWR.
It states that "A gas-cooled reactor known as the pebble bed is being
developed in South Africa," but strangely ignores similar gas-cooled reactor
developments in the US (General Atomics' GT-MHR), and in Japan and China.
While South Africa's PBMR project is very interesting (and hopefully
successful), the fact that it uses on-line refueling makes it quite a bit
more complex than the GT-MHR, as do some other features having to do with
the energy conversion machinery (turbines, compressors, heat exchangers,
etc.).
The GT-MHR may turn out to be more competitive economically.
Lastly, I guess I can't fault the article for missing the very recent launch
of the web site of the Small Power Reactor Association (SPRA), at
http://www.spra.us/home.html -- or the encouraging developments in the
Galena, Alaska, project for installing a Toshiba S4 reactor.
Jaro
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