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Re:Wildfire threatening the power grid that supplies San Fra... by hga on Saturday August 24, 2013 @01:00PM (#6269124)
Waste != Materials.

These reactors by definition have a fair amount of very "hot" materials; it hardly matters if none of them are declared "waste" if they'll still kill you in a few minutes of direct exposure.

Re:Wildfire threatening the power grid that supplies San Fra... by tehwalrus on Saturday August 24, 2013 @01:16PM (#6269173)
...

molten salt reactors (the kind in the comment at the top of this thread) are at atmospheric pressure, and are designed with a drain plug which isolates the (very hot) materials from the neutron source, after which they cool down happily on their own in a separate but similarly shielded compartment.

release of materials is one of the most unlikely outcomes ever.

Re:Wildfire threatening the power grid that supplies San Fra... by hga on Saturday August 24, 2013 @01:47PM (#6269254)
You really can't imagine a release of materials outcome in the context of active sabotage?

(Which is relevant in the context of massive distributed ones; current nuclear power systems mitigate this by being few in number such that they can be well guarded.)

Re:Wildfire threatening the power grid that supplies San Fra... by tehwalrus on Saturday August 24, 2013 @05:30PM (#6269858)
since you can't weaponise the mixture, and it's just stupidly hot and dangerous for a while and then inert, I can't see why anyone would try to sabotage one. (apart from terrorists just out to cause mayhem, but that argument also works for cars, roads, planes, train stations, etc right?)
Re:Wildfire threatening the power grid that supplies San Fra... by fnordfnordfnord on Saturday August 24, 2013 @01:18PM (#6269178)
The addition of uranium or plutonium is unnecessary for operation of a LFTR, rather it is being sold as an extra advantage that a LFTR can safely consume the waste already created at PWR's. Consuming PWR waste in a LFTR is a better option than burying it in the desert (at least it is to some).