Thorium as a nuclear fuel for CANDU reactors

The reasons for the attractiveness of thorium as a fuel for CANDU reactors are discussed. By the use of thorium fuels it is shown that the amount of energy that can be extracted from nuclear fuel resources can be increased substantially. Cumulative savings in nuclear fuel requirements are estimated for a number of situations. The thorium fuel cycle is shown to be relatively insensitive to the cost of natural resources. The conditions under which fuelling costs for the thorium cycle will become competitive with the present natural uranium fuel cycle are discussed. (Author)