A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
I think we're making a serious PR mistake calling these "Thorium Reactors" even though the term is accurate."Reactor" evokes "Nuclear Reactor". For many people, "nuclear reactor" is a deeply loaded term. Likewise "Thorium" (and other words that end in "-ium") sounds dangerously like "plutonium" and "uranium".It doesn't matter how much better/safer this technology is. Don't expect the public to respond positively when we use those words. There's too much knee jerk, "no nukes!" baggage.We should start calling these "salt power stations" or something else accurate, yet non-threatening. Otherwise, IMHO, it will be a steep uphill battle getting public and legislative support for building these things, regardless of their many benefits.