Eric Loewen: Best & Brightest 2009 Honoree on Nuclear Waste

[TheSfaaf]

I also find it intriguing that a Westinghouse employee (that designs plutonium producing reactors, like IRIS) is dissing a GE product. But I digress. Which in your view is the best coolant? Lead?

[alank97]

Experimental Breeder Reactor II (Idaho)was a sodium fast reactor that run for 30 years and successfully completed all it's tests. They even had a sodium-water-concrete reaction (fire) early in the program and showed how quickly it could be recovered from. Plus they recovered from a sodium pump failure in a few weeks that skeptics said would shut down the program. EBR-II's long successful operational history showed that a properly designed fast reactor is safer than a conventional reactor.

[phybergod]

"My job is to... convince people, convince investors...". This guy is not a scientist. Breeder reactors are extremely dangerous. They are cooled by sodium, which is a very unstable and dangerous substance, and the by-product of the breeder reactor is plutonium. The worst nuclear accident in japan occured at one of these facilities, as a result of a sodium explosion. (FYI Sodium explodes when it come into contact with water, thus it is very difficult to work with safely).

[TheSfaaf]

@phybergod You're an idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about.

1. Plutonium can be destroyed in the reactor if it is operated as a burner. If operated as an iso-breeder then it will create plutonium at the same rate it destroys it. And if operated as a breeder it will create Plutonium which can be used to start extra reactors.

2. Monju had an incident involving non-radiaoctive sodium that was did not jeopardize the safety of the reactor itself as it is not required for cooling.

[TheSfaaf]

@phybergod The reactor itself is surrounded by non-reactive argon gas which prevents any possibility of a reaction with sodium. There can be sodium incidents elsewhere in the plant, but those are manageable.

[phybergod]

I'm sorry that you diagree with my view on the safety of sodium cooled reactors. And I respect yours. However, the fact that I have a masters degree in Nuclear Engineering (Penn State, '99), spent 5 years in Naval reactor operations in the U.S. Navy, worked for 3 years in fuel research at INL, and I currently work for Westinghouse in reactor design may lead some to think that I am not an idiot, and contrary to your opinion, I may know a little something about what I'm talking about.

[TheSfaaf]

@phybergod I'm sorry if I came of rude in my previous reply, however it is clear to me that some of the statements you made were incorrect, especially regarding the fuel cycle of this reactor. PRISM has a breeding ratio of 0.8 and is designed to destroy Plutonium. Higher breeding ratios are possible if required to, for example, start up new reactors.

[TheSfaaf]

Loewen got a BS in Math&chem. He later spent 10 years in the Nuclear Navy, then attained his Masters in Nuclear Engineering from UW-M in '92 . After 5 years with a firm as Director of their nuclear program, he went to UW-M for his Ph.D. in Engineering Physics. He was later employed by INL researching GENIV. He is Chief Consulting Engineer for GE and is vice-president of ANS. I think you'll find he also knows a little something about what he is talking about.