Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Paraphrasing Declan Butler’s “Nuclear power’s new dawn,”


My paraphrase:
D. Butler (2004), states that the new efficiency improved reactors would be able to withstand high heat, and equipped with simple safety functions, reduces reliance on complicated backup systems and specialized operators. Its automatic cooling systems lowers the temperature during an accident, requiring little to no human assistance. Experts conclude that future reactors should be more cost-effective and transmit less radioactive waves to pacify a nuclear-averse population.


Original Text:
“These new reactors would all operate at high temperatures, improving their efficiency.  And they would include simplified safety features that do not rely on sophisticated backup systems or experienced operators — all are, in principle, ‘meltdown proof’ and can cool themselves down in the event of an accident with minimal, if any, human intervention. . . . Experts agree that reactors will need to be a lot cheaper to run. And to sway a nuclear-averse public, the next generation of reactors will need to produce much less radioactive waste at terrorist-proof facilities.”

Declan Butler’s “Nuclear power’s new dawn,” taken from Nature, 20 May, 2004 (Vol. 429, p. 238).

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