October, 2014 GO NUCLEAR, INC. CORNERSTONE DOCUMENT Peace on earth and the preservation of the marvels of nature will not be achieved without sound nuclear energy policies. This must include well-managed and well-governed thermal- and fastneutron nuclear power and the recycling of spent fuels. Uranium is a proven fissile and fertile fuel source. Thorium is also a fertile material. Its use should be explored, especially to benefit all parts of the world. The use of Thorium was a goal of founding nuclear scientists in the late 1940s and is still a very attractive route to a reliable and secure energy future. The world needs to proceed quickly—not twenty or fifty years from now—while the people who pioneered this science and engineering can still provide guidance to new generations of scientists and engineers. There is no political, economic or technical justification for delaying the benefits that nuclear power will bring to the world. We have four urgent recommendations. First, it is imperative to accelerate the licensing and building of the proven models of commercial reactors currently in use. While the performance and safety records of existing reactors have been excellent, the evolutionary improvements taking place in new reactor designs will take both safety and efficiency to even higher levels. Second, there is the urgent call for the expanded production of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine and commercial and industrial purposes. This ongoing crisis has hampered the expansion of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for major diseases. Expansion of radioisotope production to supply the whole world is imperative to reliably meet growing needs. Third, development of advanced nuclear reactors is needed if nuclear power is to expand significantly beyond its present commercial applications. This is necessary if our descendants are to have ample energy over the coming millennia. We strongly recommend expanding the development and demonstration of innovative nuclear reactors including breeder reactors, high temperature reactors, molten salt reactors, the use of both uranium and thorium, and fusion. The option of recycling used fuel must be expanded. Fourth, advancement and implementation of these recommendations, for nuclear energy and nuclear medicine, depend on governments, the public, and the larger scientific community properly understanding the effects of exposure to low, moderate and high levels of radiation. Hormesis refers to the phenomenon that living organisms experience beneficial effects from low exposure to chemicals and nuclear radiation which are lethal at much higher doses. The LinearNo-Threshold hypothesis declares that exposure to radiation is dangerous at any level. There is considerable evidence that the LNT hypothesis is significantly incorrect for radiation, therefore public fears associated with nuclear radiation have been excessive. Constructive publications, communications, PowerPoint Presentations, and videos on these four topics are welcome on the Go Nuclear, Inc website. It will be a safe haven for educational, scientific, medical and engineering information for global public education.
---------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------Notes: 1) The Go Nuclear, Inc. Cornerstone Statement is a generalization of the letter dated February 1, 2010 addressed to Dr. John Holdren, the Science Advisor to the White House. The Cornerstone Document includes all nuclear technologies that have a good chance of commercial use for generating electricity and process heat, production and use of isotopes for nuclear medicine, industry, commerce, agriculture and science as identified by the World Nuclear Association. 2) Discussion of radiation, hormesis and the Linear No-Threshold Hypothesis has been added as the fourth topic