Science for curious - What is Thorium (Th)?

Good night curious of steemit, today I want to speak to you of the "Thorium" a few days ago I was reading the news and said that Venezuela has the largest reserve of this element, being this, 2 times bigger than the oil reserve. Without further ado, let's talk about this powerful mineral.

TORIO (Th-Thorium) is a slowly oxidizing mineral belonging to the family of radioactive substances with high nuclear fuel potential that can substitute for uranium. Uranium-235 has been the mineral commonly used as a nuclear fuel whose wastes are highly radioactive and harmful. Instead, Torio is used as a mineral that does not need to be enriched becoming a perfect resource for the creation of green energy.

Here are some of the advantages that would offer the TORIO as a substitute for uranium-235:

1- Thorium reserves triple that of uranium.
2 - It is estimated that 100% of thorium is exploitable for nuclear causes, while only 0.7% of uranium is used for the same purpose (thorium is more profitable).
3 - Thorium offers more security guarantees because the blasts that historically have occurred in the case of uranium are ruled out.
4- Radioactive waste from this element has less impact on the environment and is easier to clean.
5- The maintenance of thorium-based power plants would be less expensive than the current uranium-based power plants.
6- Thorium fuel has better thermal and physical properties, as well as better irradiation performance, than uranium fuel
7- The melting point of thorium dioxide is about 500 degrees centigrade higher than that of uranium dioxide. This difference offers a safety margin in case of overvoltage or loss of refrigerant in a reactor.
(8) techniques for the long-term disposal of thorium fuel cycle wastes (which produce a lower amount of high-level spent fuel) may be less demanding than those in the uranium-plutonium The point of view of the life of the repository as of the needs of space.

In Venezuela we have a thorium site located in El Impact Hill, in Bolivar State, whose amount is equivalent to or greater than the energy potential of the entire Belt of the Orinoco, which would be enough to install three reactors with capacity to generate up to 4000 MW each one. This could turn Venezuela into a clean energy producing country with export capacity.

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It is necessary to observe the effects on health:

People will always be exposed to small amounts of thorium through air, food and water, because it is found almost anywhere on Earth.

Everyone absorbs some thorium through the food or water we drink, and the quantities in the air are so small, that the intake through the air can usually be ignored.

Large uncontrolled amounts of thorium can be found near hazardous landfills where thorium was not discharged according to proper procedures. People living near these hazardous waste sites may be exposed to more thorium than normal because they breathe dust swept away by the wind and because it ends up in food that is grown near the place.

People working in mining, milling, or thorium industries or laboratories may also experience thorium exposures that outweigh natural exposure.

Amounts of thorium in the environment may be increased accidentally due to accidental releases from thorium processing plants.

Breathing thorium in the workplace can increase the chances of developing lung diseases and lung and pancreatic cancer many years after exposure. Thorium has the ability to change genetic material. People who have been injected thorium for special x-rays may develop liver disease.

Thorium is radioactive and can be stored in the bones. Because of this it has the ability to cause bone cancer many years after the exposure has taken place.

Breathing large quantities of thorium can be lethal. People often die from metal poisoning when they undergo excessive exposure. Source

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