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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
William H. Hedley, Paul H. Lamberger, C. Mark Colvin, Gary E. Gibbs, Frank S. Adams, Rodney P. Bowser, Thomas J. Rissner, Fredric E. Morgan, Mark J. Schmidt, Jeffrey F. Van Patten, Ronald E. Wieneke
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 2 | March 1992 | Pages 612-615
Safety; Measurement and Accountability; Operation and Maintenance; Application | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29815
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The TERF and the ERS tritium capture systems are alike in that they both use the “oxidize and dry” principle to remove tritium from gases, but they differ significantly in engineering details. The newer TERF system benefited in many ways from experience with the ERS. The TERF is expected to: 1) operate at a higher pressure, leading to greater throughput, 2) have redesigned reactors with better efficiency to process tritiated organic compounds, 3) have better energy conservation, 4) use an advanced process control system to provide more versatility in operation of the system, to account for the amount of tritium in the system at all times, and to more completely log operating results, 5) utilize more corrosion resistant materials to minimize maintenance, and 6) provide double containment of all pressurized tritium containing equipment to reduce tritium losses and increase operating safety.