4. Generic issues related to thorium cycle development

4.1 Non-proliferation

This question was addressed in a wide-ranging study of all nuclear fuel cycles carried out between 1978 and 1980 (International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation, or INFCE ). One of the general conclusions was that the technical obstacles to the military use of thorium cycles using less than 20% uranium are similar to those of the uranium-plutonium cycle. Nevertheless, as this was an exercise launched on the initiative of the then President of the United States (Jimmy Carter) and involving nearly fifty countries and over 500 "experts" (the final document was 20,000 pages...