A Metal for the U.S. Navy
Author(s): Michael McCarthy
Original Post: A Metal for the U.S. Navy
Type: Op-Ed
Date: 11/16/2009
The recently passed fiscal 2010 U.S. National Defense Authorization act initially contained a mandate for the Department of Defense to study thorium, a radioactive metal found abundantly in the United States that could change the future of nuclear energy. The initial section called for the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to "jointly carry out a study on the use of thorium-liquid fueled nuclear reactors for naval power needs."
Unfortunately, this section was absent from the final version of the bill. But with nuclear energy and natural resources competition on the rise, thorium deserves a close look for the benefits it can provide to our national security.
Thorium is a safer alternative for the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered fleet that is more proliferation-proof than uranium, and also three times more abundant. It is not fissile on its own, but can be combined with a small amount of uranium to serve as a "feeder" material for a nuclear chain reaction.
Thorium cycles do not generate usable plutonium as a byproduct, and they produce as little as half the nuclear waste uranium cycles do. For these reasons, thorium can help reduce the concerns about nuclear proliferation that are commonly associated with nuclear power.
Using thorium can have a positive impact on the Navy's operations. The 2008 defense bill mandates that major combatant ships must be built with integrated nuclear propulsion systems because nuclear ships are more operationally effective than conventional ships. Thorium can help the Navy meet its mandate in a more proliferation-proof manner.
In addition, nuclear power does not cause the massive carbon emissions of petroleum-fueled ships, so nuclear propulsion compounds the admirable steps the Navy has already taken to reduce its impact on climate change.
Thorium use carries one known disadvantage, but it is not prohibitive. The problem is that nobody mines primarily for thorium. Weapons research dominated the nuclear market during the Cold War, and thorium mining was not a priority since it is unusable in nuclear weapons.
Laying the Groundwork
But thorium has garnered recent bipartisan political attention, primarily because the United States has large, untapped domestic reserves, smaller than those of India but significant nonetheless.
Some thorium mining and transportation infrastructure is already being built in India, and at least one U.S. firm has been lobbying Congress to look into wider use of the thorium fuel cycle as a green source of energy for the United States.
If India and the United States develop their thorium reserves, the Navy could benefit from a steady supply of the material.
A military study of thorium has economic questions to answer. It needs to address whether thorium-based propulsion can save money over a ship's life cycle compared with a petroleum- or uranium-powered ship of the same class.
A study also needs to determine how quickly adequate thorium mining and transport infrastructure can be put into place, along with the likelihood of supply chain disruptions.
The answers to these questions need to build on recent studies of the nuclear fleet by the Navy and the Congressional Research Service, which looked at life cycle costs for ships using uranium but not thorium.
As we enter into an era of increased natural resource competition and a national push for alternative sources of energy - particularly in the context of our national security - thorium deserves further consideration for its potential benefits.
A Pentagon study would be a step in the right direction
Related:Topic(s): Natural Resources + National Security = Natural Security, U.S. Military Forces & Operations
Project(s): Energy Security and Climate Change
