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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.
Lucile S. Dauffy, Hesham Y. Khater, Shivakumar Sitaraman, Sandra J. Brereton
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 2 | August 2009 | Pages 736-740
Nuclear Analysis | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST18-P1.38
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Commissioning shots have commenced at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Within a year, the 192 laser beam facility will be operational and the experimental phase will begin. At each shot, the emitted neutrons will interact with surroundings, activating them, especially inside the target bay where the neutron flux is the highest. We are calculating the dose from those activated structures and objects in order to plan and minimize worker exposure during maintenance and normal NIF operation. This study presents the results of the activation analysis of the optics of the Final Optics Assemblies (FOA), which are a key contributor to worker exposure. There are 48 FOAs weighting three tons each, and routine change-out and maintenance of optics and optics modules is expected. We found that the effective dose from any optics is negligible 6 days after the last shot, and that the effective dose from frames is low but should be minimized not to reach the dose limit.