> some radioactive dust was released to the environment. This happened just a couple of days after the Chernobyl disaster. The operators played down the incident, which caused a loss of confidence in the regulatory authorities.
Radiactive dust is not a small problem, it's fatal if inhaled. Skin can stop a lot of radiation, but dust in the lungs is a worst-case scenario.
> THTR-300 was only in full service for 423 days
It was dismantled after only 4(!) operating calendar years because of rising costs and lack of faith in the regulation process. Of course, the government is on the hook for the overruns. What a disaster.
Oh, exactly the same things the HN nuclear apologists gloss over.
The challenge in the US is that most reactors have their operating permits rubber-stamped to extend 20 additional years. It means they're active much longer than designed, inviting corrosion and brittleness problems, and the operator can avoid paying for the decommissioning "until later," when it's somebody else's problem, usually the tax payer.
Hence why nuclear reactors need to be stopped before construction even begins.
If it just were not for the few desing flaws that make them unstable and dangerous in some situations.