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Aren't reactors like that typically a proliferation risk? That might not be an issue as long as France doesn't decide to start selling its nuclear power plants

Aren't reactors like that typically a proliferation risk? That might not be an issue as long as France doesn't decide to start selling its nuclear power plants to questionable countries again.

CameronNemo 5y ago
Both recycling fuel and breeder reactors have side effects that could be used for proliferation. France is one of the few countries that do recycle spent fuel. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/frances-efficiency-in-the-nuclear-fuel-cycle-what-can-oui-learn https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/frances-efficiency-in-t... France is a nuclear capable country, so the proliferation risk is fairly low from what I understand. They could even sell the plants abroad and bring the waste back to France to be recycled. Germany is not a nuclear capable country, and I am not sure how they feel about France being their primary source of energy (or enriched uranium, if they have their own plants). Hopefully they prefer French nuclear energy to Russian oil and gas.
- webreac 5y ago
  France recycle spent fuel for whole Europe. In order to reuse a part of plutonium, most of the plant consume a mix of uranium and plutonium: mox. AFAIK, France has huge piles of useless plutonium.
- kazen44 5y ago
  > Germany is not a nuclear capable country, and I am not sure how they feel about France being their primary source of energy (or enriched uranium, if they have their own plants). Hopefully they prefer French nuclear energy to Russian oil and gas. Considering europe has a harmonized energy market[0][1], does that really matter? France, germany and the benelux are so tightly economically integrated anyways, that doing harm to one would result in massive chaos in the others. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Network_of_Transmission_System_Operators_for_Electricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Network_of_Transmissi... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_in_Electricity_Directive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_in_Electricity...
BurningFrog 5y ago
France has had atom bombs since 1960, so that train has sailed.

Aren't reactors like that typically a proliferation risk? That might not be an issue as long as France doesn't decide to start selling its nuclear power plants to questionable countries again.

CameronNemo 5y ago

Both recycling fuel and breeder reactors have side effects that could be used for proliferation. France is one of the few countries that do recycle spent fuel. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/frances-efficiency-in-the-nuclear-fuel-cycle-what-can-oui-learn https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/frances-efficiency-in-t... France is a nuclear capable country, so the proliferation risk is fairly low from what I understand. They could even sell the plants abroad and bring the waste back to France to be recycled. Germany is not a nuclear capable country, and I am not sure how they feel about France being their primary source of energy (or enriched uranium, if they have their own plants). Hopefully they prefer French nuclear energy to Russian oil and gas.

webreac 5y ago
France recycle spent fuel for whole Europe. In order to reuse a part of plutonium, most of the plant consume a mix of uranium and plutonium: mox. AFAIK, France has huge piles of useless plutonium.
kazen44 5y ago
> Germany is not a nuclear capable country, and I am not sure how they feel about France being their primary source of energy (or enriched uranium, if they have their own plants). Hopefully they prefer French nuclear energy to Russian oil and gas. Considering europe has a harmonized energy market[0][1], does that really matter? France, germany and the benelux are so tightly economically integrated anyways, that doing harm to one would result in massive chaos in the others. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Network_of_Transmission_System_Operators_for_Electricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Network_of_Transmissi... [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_in_Electricity_Directive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_in_Electricity...

BurningFrog 5y ago

France has had atom bombs since 1960, so that train has sailed.