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CERN'S 1984 Nobel prizewinners Carlo Rubbia (left) and Simon van der Meer © CERN

special responsibility for based power plant just With the Carlo Rubbia What more can we
the development of such as efficient as traditional concept, it's impossible to hope? That Professor
a nuclear reactor. This nuclear power stations? have the kind of accident Lillestøl will succeed in
would, in my mind, be an that happened in Chernobyl, this endeavour and that
important Norwegian If you bum one kilogram simply because the reactor Norway and other coun-
contribution to preserve (kg) of thorium, in compa- will not melt down like it did tries will support his
the standard of living for rison with today's use of then. You cannot give that battle for this new ener-
future generations. uranium, you will get 250 same guarantee in terms of gy which sounds very
times more energy out of safety for the new nuclear appealing...
It is a huge project it than you would out of power plants (often called
costing some 550 million the uranium. So, first of the fourth generation); For further information,
Euros, but I am not sug- all, thorium is far more although I think they will be please visit Professor
webs ite
gesting that Norway efficient energy-wise and, safer than those constructed Lillestøl's
should finance it alone. It secondly, there exists earlier. http:llweb.ift. uib.no/—Iill
should at least guarantee three to four times more estol/Energy_Web/Ener
it so that the first proto- thorium in the world than In addition, by using the gy_and%20Thorium.ht
type could be built and there is uranium -- you Carlo Rubbia concept the ml
that we could gather find it in the United States, problem of nuclear waste
expertise somewhere in Australia, India and will be reduced substantial-
order to work on this pro- Norway. However, if you ly. Not only will you get less
ject for the benefit of the look for it, important waste, but you will also not
whole world, and not reserves of thorium will obtain the large quantities of
only for one single coun- be found in many other plutonium that nations can
try. It would not only countries. use for making bombs.
boost education and Looking at Iran and North
expertise in this field in Q: Talking about Korea, one can wonder whe-
Norway, but also else- nuclear energy, the ther it is the energy aspect
accident that they were most interes-
where. Chernobyl
comes to people's minds. ted in or the bombs
Q: Is this thorium-

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