Editing Thorium Reactor Waste and Proliferation (section)

== Waste Characteristics of LFTR/MSR ==

A 1,000 MW LFTR/MSR produces approximately:

* '''1 tonne of total waste per year''' (versus 30 tonnes for an equivalent LWR)
* '''Virtually no actinides''' — in a well-operated MSR, heavy elements (uranium, plutonium, and above) are either fissioned or remain in the reactor. They are not discharged as waste.
* '''300 times less volume''' of radioactive waste than an equivalent LWR
* '''83% of fission products are safe within 10 years'''
* '''Remaining 17% (approximately 135 kg for a 1 GW plant) reach safe radiation levels within 300–350 years'''

The absence of long-lived actinides is the decisive difference. The LFTR waste profile means:

* No need for geological timescale storage
* Significantly smaller and simpler waste management infrastructure
* No Yucca Mountain-scale repository required
* Waste reaches background radiation levels in human timescales (300 years versus 100,000+ years)