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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Paige, the ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 3 | April 2005 | Pages 440-444
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Experimental Devices and Advanced Designs | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A726
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As the safety assessment frequently requires knowledge of the activation parameters, we estimated the highest possible activity, decay heat, and waste disposal rating on the time scale after shutdown for the compact stellarator power plant ARIES-CS. We selected two widely different systems employing SiC/SiC composites and low-activation ferritic steel (FS) as structural materials. Our results show that components of both systems qualify as Class C low-level waste (LLW) at the end of a 100 y storage period following the decommissioning of the plant. The SiC blanket, vacuum vessel, and magnet offer very low waste disposal rating to the extent that a Class A LLW seems achievable for these components. On this last point, we discussed the split between the Class A and Class C wastes, emphasizing our motivation to lower the level of ARIES-CS radioactive waste.