Former U.S. regulator questions small nuclear reactor technology,
Business case for small reactors ‘doesn’t fly,’ says expert on nuclear waste,
Jacques Poitras · CBC News Jan 15, 2021 A former head of the United States’ nuclear regulator is raising questions about the molten-salt technology that would be used in one model of proposed New Brunswick-made nuclear reactors.
The technology pitched by Saint John’s Moltex Energy is key to its business case because, the company argues, it would reuse some of the nuclear waste from Point Lepreau and lower the long-term cost and radioactivity of storing the remainder.
But Allison Macfarlane, the former chairperson of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a specialist in the storage of nuclear waste, said no one has yet proven that it’s possible or viable to reprocess nuclear waste and lower the cost and risks of storage.
Posted: Jan 15, 2021 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: January 15
Allison Macfarlane, director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, says she has a lot of unanswered questions about molten-salt technology.(University of British Columbia)