conductivity. A molten salt loop will use piping of 1/5 the diameter, and pumps 1/20 the power, of those required for high-pressure helium, while staying at atmospheric pressure Smaller, low pressure containment. By using liquid salt as the coolant instead of pressurized water, a containment structure only slightly bigger than the reactor vessel can be used. Light water reactors use pressurized water, which flashes to steam and expands a thousandfold in the case of a leak, necessitating a containment building a thousandfold bigger in volume than the reactor vessel. The LFTR containment can not only be smaller in physical size, its containment is also inherently low pressure. There are no sources of stored energy that could cause a rapid pressure rise (such as Hydrogen or steam) in the containment. This gives the LFTR a substantial theoretical advantage not only in terms of inherent safety, but also in terms of smaller size, lower materials use, and lower construction cost. From waste to resource. There are suggestions that it might be possible to extract some of the fission products so that they have separate commercial value. However, compared to the produced energy, the value of the fission products is low, and chemical purification is expensive. Efficient mining. The extraction process of thorium from the earth's crust is a much safer and efficient mining method than that of uranium. Thorium's ore, monazite, generally contains higher concentrations of thorium than the percentage of uranium found in its respective ore. This makes thorium a more cost efficient and less environmentally damaging fuel source. Thorium mining is also easier and less dangerous than uranium mining, as the mine is an open pit, which doesn't require ventilation such as the underground uranium mines, where radon levels are potentially harmful. Disadvantages LFTRs are quite unlike today's operating commercial power reactors. These differences create design difficulties and trade-offs: No large scale production yet – A 2014 study from the University of Chicago concluded that since this design hasn't yet reached the commercial phase, full economic advantages won't be realized without the advantages of large scale production: "Although substation cost-savings are associated with the building of a LFTR in comparison to a traditional uranium plant, the difference in cost, given the current industry environment [as of 2014], remains insufficient to justify the creation of a new LFTR". Reaching break-even breeding is questionable – While the plans usually call for break-even