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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 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.
J. H. Kim, B. T. Min, I. K. Park, S. W. Hong
Nuclear Technology | Volume 176 | Number 3 | December 2011 | Pages 372-386
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A13314
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three triggered steam explosion experiments were performed in the TROI facility with a two-dimensional interaction vessel of 0.6-m diameter. The melt compositions were pure zirconia (ZrO2), 70:30 (UO2:ZrO2 = 70:30 wt%) eutectic corium, and 50:50 noneutectic corium. All tests were performed in a 1.0-m-deep water pool under atmospheric pressure. The water temperature was maintained at room temperature. The melt mass released to the water pool was [approximately]10 kg for each test. The tests with pure zirconia and 70:30 corium resulted in triggered steam explosions, while the test with 50:50 corium did not. However, a weak trace of a steam spike was detected with 50:50 corium with a fairly long delay time ([approximately]0.1 s) after an external triggering. The explosion efficiency was estimated from the dynamic load and dynamic pressure. The explosion efficiency was calculated to be 0.1% for zirconia and 0.04% for 70:30 corium. The explosivity of corium material was found to be rather low, compared to the simulant material (alumina, [approximately]3%).