Thorium

Most people are unaware that the first nuclear reactors were built at the Oakridge National Lab in the1960's. The first reactor used thorium not uranium because the builder Alvin Weinberg recognized the advantages that thorium presented. His reactor ran for four years with no problems but was shut down because thorium reactors cannot produce the fuel needed for a bomb. Weinberg was fired because his main concern was safety and efficiency and not bombs. The government then ordered that all the research material be destroyed but one engineer stored it in the basement of a nearby building. Many years later a NASA engineer, Kurt Sorenson, discovered the research and opened the door to the modern day small thorium reactors that are being built by several different companies. Government scientist, upon seeing Sorenson's information, persuaded the government to open thorium small reactors to federal programs. It is not much but it is a start.