Alsar and 5 co-authors reported in late 2025 that thorium occupies a unique position in the global energy agenda, being simultaneously considered a promising nuclear fuel and an ecological risk factor.
Conceptual Eh–pH mobility diagram for Th(IV).
Its fuel cycle (Th-232 → U-233) offers significant advantages over uranium, including reduced waste, improved resistance to burnup, and lower proliferation risks, while molten salt reactor designs demonstrate potential to reduce electricity costs and consume transuranic elements from spent nuclear fuel.
At the same time, the geochemical mobility of Th⁴⁺ ions, prone to forming soluble and colloidal species, increases the likelihood of their migration into soils and waters, with subsequent accumulation in biota and induction of radiotoxic effects. This study applied a comprehensive review of thorium’s energy potential and environmental risks, analyzing advances in reactor technology alongside mitigation methods such as coagulation, membrane separation, ion exchange, and adsorption with natural and modified sorbents.
The findings emphasize that thorium’s strategic role in sustainable nuclear power is inseparable from the development of reliable safeguards to protect ecosystems. The authors concluded that a dual approach—integrating innovative reactor engineering with effective environmental countermeasures—will be essential for safe deployment of thorium technologies, ensuring their contribution to clean energy generation while minimizing ecological impacts.
[NOTE: General AI sources indicate that thorium can function in nuclear fuel cycles, but it is not a practical near- or medium-term replacement for uranium in commercial nuclear power. The current evidence indicates that thorium is better understood as a complementary, long-term option that may extend or diversify fuel cycles rather than displace uranium across the existing reactor fleet.
Futhermore, Thorium-232 is fertile rather than fissile, so it cannot by itself sustain a chain reaction; it must first absorb a neutron and convert through thorium-233 and protactinium-233 into fissile uranium-233. That means any thorium-based system requires an initial-fissile driver such as uranium-235, plutonium-239, or previously bred uranium-233.
Commercial deployment is also limited by the fact that today’s global reactor fleet, fuel-fabrication capability, enrichment infrastructure, and regulatory systems are all built around uranium fuels. Thorium therefore is not a drop-in substitute for the conventional uranium oxide fuel used in most light-water reactors.
China does have a test thorium-uranium reactor undergoing tests (here)].
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
