Fast Track to the Fast Reactor

Excellent white paper by Tom Blees and Dr. Barry Brook on the urgent need for near-term demonstration (and subsequent deployment) of fast reactors, such as the Integral Fast Reactor:

The IFR, with its metal-fuel system and pyroprocessing, is able to utilize the actinides to such an extent as to essentially solve the waste problem by reducing the radiological toxicity of the waste products from hundreds of thousands of years to a mere few hundred years.

I’m still reading Plentiful Energy, but the book is fairly dense and not what one would call an “easy read,” although the information it contains and history it describes is nothing short of rich. (Tom Blees’ Prescription for the Planet is written in a more personal and conversational style, and is faster and much more “fun” to read.) “Pocket essays” such as this white paper are very helpful in gaining a quick understanding of this technology, which can be fleshed out through investigation of the cited sources and books referenced. It is also something that can be easily shared with friends and associates, without asking them to commit to an entire book.

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