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Name: Bethany
Status: educator
Age: 30s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
While reading through a back issue of "Discovery" magazine, April 94, I came across an short article concerning the Integral Fast Reactor as a promising "new" technology. What ever became of this technology?


Replies:
Uncle Sam pulled the plug. Right after Clinton was elected president in 1992, he, his administration, and congress thought it was in the best interest of the country to stop development of this promising technology. Unfortunately, most people in this country hear the word "nuclear power" and all they think of is Three Mile Island and nuclear weapons. The IFR was going to be a system that used nuclear fuel very efficiently and even more safely than today's nuclear power plants. The technology is still here at Argonne in some ways, but for the most part, it is no longer a viable project here. Maybe someday we can continue to develop this technology to the next level before the next energy crisis requires us to rush through it.


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