Thorium, one of the %u201Crare earth metals,%u201D is an alternative to uranium as fuel for the construction of nuclear reactors designed for the purpose of producing electricity.
Thorium was, in fact, tested for this purpose at the very beginning of the design of nuclear power plants for generating electricity for powering submarines. It was used in the fuel for the world%u2019s first land sited nuclear power plant located at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. That first plant was built under the aegis of the %u201CAtoms for Peace%u201D program championed by then President Eisenhower.
