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Thursday, January 30, 2025

Green Quirk Part 2: Radiation Remediation and Thorium Reactors--Permanent Solutions For a Healthy Environment

Nuclear Power Plant At Night Image: iStock, Tomas Sereda

Green Quirk part 2

Radiation Remediation and Thorium Reactors: permanent solutions for a healthy environment

Radiation Remediation and thorium reactors are taken from ‘Fukushima Solutions World Conference’, University of Texas, Austin, March 22-23, 2014: speaker, David Yurth. (Transcript: DY-Srt - Google Docs)

From 1994-2002, Dr. David Yurth set up a privately owned research lab in Salt Lake City, UT and teamed up with several scientists from around the world to publish, share, and open source their findings. They also held conferences to publicize their research. Out of this research came a technology that produced high-energy charge clusters to remediate radioactive wastes. Kenneth Shoulders in the group received recognition for creating that technology. The device would shoot out electrons at one end of a spark generator. These electrons, rather than dispersing away from each other, generated small doughnut-shaped tori. When the tori are guided by a magnetic field through a proton-rich environment such as deuterium (a stable isotope of hydrogen) gas, each torus being highly negatively charged in the centre would attract the relatively heavier protons travelling at 10% the speed of light into the centre of the torus. The protons would have enough kinetic energy when striking a nucleus of the target radioactive material to temporarily, but not catastrophically, disrupt the nuclear structure, causing the release of some protons, neutrons, gamma rays, and lots of electrons. After the bombardment, the structure reestablishes itself, except that the half-life is cut to 50%. Another bombardment reduces the radioactive material by another half. Yurth gives an example of radioactive Cesium-137, when bombarded by high-density charge clusters in a deuterium environment, the half-life is reduced from 30 years to 15 years with one bombardment. When Cesium-137 is continued to be bombarded by high-density charge clusters, the half-life is further reduced to 7 1/2 years, then 3 3/4 years and so on until the radioactive emissions are at ambient background levels. This technology has been demonstrated for 11 years to repeatedly work for both solid and liquid radioactive wastes. Radioactive nuclear wastes can be remediated in real time as they’re being produced on-site using this safe and effective method. Yurth personally knows of four different effective methods that can be used to eliminate radioactive wastes permanently without any contamination. The US patent office and literature contain an additional 84 innovations (600 patents worldwide) to deal with radioactive waste and contamination using plasma, magnetic fields, and cryogenic methods. In 2011, the Russians had a research project that totally remediated 1500 cubic meters of high-level contaminated waste. Mainstream scientific publications refused to publish the Russian scientist’s research, which led them to open-source their findings.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) got wind of what Yurth and his researchers were doing and wanted them to share their data with the Department. They packed up their materials and sent them to the DOE, which in turn sent them out to another lab to verify the scientific results. After a year, the lab not only confirmed the results but also the technique used to remediate radioactive wastes. The scientists thought they were being invited by the DOE to participate in a process to implement the design engineering prototype for testing and deploying alpha and beta additions for on-site field testing to remediate nuclear waste. Apparently, the DOE tricked them when an assistant to the secretary of the DOE called Yurth in October 2005 and screamed so loudly over the phone that Yurth had to hold the phone away from his head. The DOE didn’t want anything to do with Yurth or their research. They were told to stop their research or be arrested under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and be thrown in jail without representation, and if they didn’t desist, they would be served national secrecy orders. They stopped their research and in 2010, under the new Obama administration, Yurth got another phone call from an individual in the DOE apologizing for the behaviour of the previous DOE secretary and to prepare a presentation and come to Washington, DC to give a private presentation to all 26 department heads. They worked throughout the summer putting the presentation together, and three weeks before the presentation was scheduled to occur, a private email from the DOE individual expressed his regrets that there was no political alternative except to cancel the conference. The DOE department heads gave this DOE individual such a negative reaction to the meeting that they didn’t want the conversation or have it on record in the DOE offices that the conversation or the meeting even took place.

Yurth concluded the inmates are running the asylum. Private interests and their capital are protecting their economic and political territory by preventing genuinely useful technologies from getting onto the market. Much of the massive US budget goes towards military spending and research projects, with little towards addressing environmental issues or serving civilian concerns.

In 1954, Yurth continues, Edward Teller developed and patented the liquid sodium thorium reactor without the problems posed by uranium nuclear reactors. The operating temperatures are much lower, with no meltdowns or explosions, eliminating radioactive material leaking into the air or groundwater. There is no need for cooling towers, liquid mercury, pressurized containment vessels, or exotic materials. Dr. Otis Peterson operated a sodium thorium reactor prototype for 11 years with few issues, producing 10 megawatts of power with a performance temperature of 200°C. According to Yurth, the Chinese are spending millions of dollars and currently lead in the building of sodium thorium reactors, which will eventually replace their coal-fired power plants.

In a 2005 article by Noir and Teller published in ‘Nuclear Technology’, “ the power plant [thorium nuclear reactor] could operate for up to 200 yr with no transport of fissile material to the reactor or of wastes from the reactor during this period. Advantages that include utilization of an abundant fuel, inaccessibility of that fuel to terrorists or for diversion to weapons use, together with good economics and safety features such as an underground location will diminish public concerns....”

Numerous articles on thorium reactors focus mostly on issues downplaying their benefits as an alternative to cleaner, safer nuclear power over the existing uranium reactors. The world is slowly catching on to thorium reactors, which are touted as the future of nuclear energy. Thorium is also widely available, being three times more abundant than uranium.

Green Quirk part 1 Introduction

Green Quirk part 2 Radiation Remediation and Thorium Reactors

Green Quirk part 3 Over Unity/Free Energy

Green Quirk part 4 Internal Combustion Engine Efficiency

Green Quirk part 5 Electrogravitic Space and Personal Vehicles

Green Quirk part 6 Water Electrolysis and Hydrogen

Green Quirk part 7 Conclusions

References:

Butler, George; YouTube: David Yurth-Fukushima Conference; April 6, 2014; David Yurth - Fukushima Conference: Site accessed 1-12-2025.
CheckTheEvidence.com; Nuclear Radiation Remediation; November 6, 2018; Nuclear Radiation Remediation – Check The Evidence; Site accessed 1-26-2025.
Greer, Steven Dr.; et al; YouTube-PopNet: The Lost Century; October 24, 2024; The Lost Century | Full Documentary; Site accessed 1-1-2025.
Hasslberger, Sepp; Seeing Past the Edge by David Yurth; October 17, 2018; Seeing Past The Edge - by David Yurth - A new world emerging; Site accessed 1-26-2025.
Midgley, Emma; Fisher, Matt; Molten Salt Reactor Technology Development Continues as Countries Work Towards Net Zero; IAEA; April 8, 2024; Molten Salt Reactor Technology Development Continues as Countries Work Towards Net Zero | IAEA; Site accessed 1-18-2025.
Moir, Ralph W.; Teller, Edward; Thorium-Fueled Underground Power Plant Based On Molten Salt Technology; Nuclear Technology; Vol. 151; Sept 2005; Pgs. 334-340; No Job Name or Wayback Machine; Site accessed 1-16-2025.
Ramana, MV; Nuclear power: Why Molten salt reactors are problematic and Canada investing in them is a waste; The Conversation; Toronto, ON; September 14, 2021; Nuclear power: Why molten salt reactors are problematic and Canada investing in them is a waste; Site accessed 1-18-2025.
Soundcloud (Homosymbion); David Yurth-Proven nuclear remediation technology denied; 2019; Proven nuclear remediation technology denied by Homosymbion; Transcript: DY-Srt - Google Docs; Site accessed 1-26-2025.
World Nuclear Association; Molten Salt Reactors; Last updated September 10, 2024; Molten Salt Reactors - World Nuclear Association; Site accessed 1-16-2025.
Yurth, David; High Density Charge Cluster (EVO) Remediation of High Nuclear Waste; Nuclear Remediation Technologies, Inc; October 2014; (PDF) High Density Charge Cluster (EVO) Remediation of High Nuclear Waste; Site accessed 1-26-2025.

Charles Kuss

2025

Updated: 05-21-2025

Green Quirk Part 1: Introduction--Permanent Solutions For a Healthy Environment

Image: AdobeStock

Green Quirk part 1

Introduction: permanent solutions for a healthy environment

The four main renewable energy sources, hydro, biomass, wind, and solar, are the main alternative energy sources to electric power produced from fossil fuels and nuclear-powered generating stations. The renewables are much cleaner, but biomass burning has issues with environmental contamination, mainly air quality.

Fossil fuel burning, as we know, has a very high ecological footprint because of various pollutants released into the environment. Nuclear, although clean, produces radioactive wastes and has the potential to release radioactive contamination lasting for millions of years (Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island).

Wind turbines and solar panels are inefficient for a large-scale electrical grid system that requires a continuous, reliable source of electricity. Solar and wind are very expensive and not very cost-effective since the sun doesn’t shine every day, and windless days are common even on the prairies.

In 2025, the most efficient solar panel available to the public was 22.8% efficient, and that of wind turbines is roughly 20-45%. Dust, snow, and ice build-up further reduced the efficiency of solar panels. The panels have to be replaced every 25-30 years and are 94-96% recyclable. If the solar cells are disposed of in landfills, chemical pollution (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide, Cadmium Telluride, Cadmium Hallium (di)Selenide, Hexafluoroethane, Lead, Polyvinyl Fluoride) can become an environmental hazard. Modern wind turbines have a life expectancy averaging 20 years, and the 15% that can’t be salvaged end up in the landfill. Solar and wind farms are open to the destructive influence of hail and strong winds, and they take away the allure from the landscape.

Biomass and biofuel-burning electric generating stations have been sold to the public as a clean, renewable green energy solution to coal and are popular in the US, Canada, and Europe. Biomass burning consumes millions of acres of forests annually, mainly in Canada, Indonesia, and South America. The forestry companies export chips or pellets worldwide to biomass-burning plants for a clean and efficient burn. However, some biomass facilities burn green and damp trees, producing temperatures below the optimal level, which is generally around 600°C or higher. To raise the temperatures, some US plants supplement the biomass with natural gas, tire chips, and old creosote and PCP (pentachlorophenol) treated railroad ties. Some biomass power stations in eastern US cities are garbage incinerators. This leaves one to question whether biomass burning is actually green. The response to this question must consider the extensive destruction of forests, the displacement of indigenous people in South America and elsewhere, the endangerment and extinction of wildlife, and health hazards caused by air pollution. This is the opposite of what has been sold to the public. What exactly is renewable Green Energy? How serious is the concern about the environment? Is Green Energy just another exploitative capitalist tool creating corporate shareholder value and making a few people extremely rich?

There are more challenges to the extensive electrical grid infrastructure. The system is vulnerable to solar activity, heavy frost, ice, aging, wildfires, hurricanes, and cyberattacks. Wind and other induced atmospheric vibrations such as sudden changes in temperature and pressure can cause transmission lines to vibrate creating high amplitude and low frequency (known as “conductor galloping”), or low amplitude and high frequency (known as “aeolian vibrations”) fluctuations that can place additional stress on the grid infrastructure that can cause blackouts. The cost-effectiveness of the grid itself is affected by the reduced electrical power loss during transmission. The power loss occurs when electrical energy is converted into heat because of the resistance in the transmission lines, and this loss can be significant over long distances. There is another challenge: repairing and maintaining this elaborate grid system can cost in the millions and billions of dollars.

Solar activity can cause periodic major and even smaller solar events that can cause major challenges to the grid infrastructure. Examples are Solar Cycle 10 or the Carrington Event of September 1 &2, 1859, where a major solar geomagnetic storm caused sparking and even fires in telegraph stations. On July 23, 2012, a larger and possibly stronger solar disturbance than the Carrington Event missed Earth by roughly 9 days. The Quebec Blackout of 1989 was caused by a significant solar storm, resulting in massive outages caused by transformer failure. The interaction between the solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and the Earth’s magnetic field can lead to electromagnetically induced currents along the transmission lines, causing high-voltage transformers to overheat and fail, resulting in power outages.

The electrical infrastructure is further challenged by the arrival of electric vehicles.

Battery-powered electric vehicles (EV) have become an alternative to the polluting internal combustion engine (ICE). The EV has overcome many of the initial challenges, making them as reliable as the ICE vehicles, and their low maintenance has made them attractive initially; however, the replacement battery can be expensive, and in 2025, it is roughly 32-35% of the cost of the EV. The battery and access to a charging station are limiting factors for the EV. The size of an average EV battery is roughly 40-71 kWh, lasting about 10 years with an 8-year warranty in the US and Canada.

The Green Quirk blogs parts 2 to 5 are stories of suppressed, genuine alternative green energy and healthy environmental solutions that conflict with the established energy infrastructure. The conflicts go further into the ‘shoddy’ environmental solutions attempting to solve man-made environmental problems, which in some cases appear to be deliberately introduced. Brave, well-meaning innovators and their fate for trying to insert their environmentally clean innovations into the established energy and environmental sector will also be discussed. Once you see what has been suppressed, you might want to ask yourself a question: How serious is all this ‘environmental talk’, or is it simply exploitive capitalism or a clever way to raise taxes? While you’re pondering that question, take a deeper look at the driving forces and mechanisms behind the global economic system, and look at what’s being exploited to sustain an economy. Anyone offering a permanent, genuine solution to disease, stress, war, catastrophic events, and other problems can easily upset the global financial structure and threaten the national security of any nation.