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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.
P. Barbucci, L. Bella
Nuclear Technology | Volume 112 | Number 1 | October 1995 | Pages 1-8
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A15847
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The results of a simulation activity on a General Electric (GE) simplified boiling water reactor (SB WR) carried out at ENEL (the Italian Electricity Board) are discussed. The SBWR is a medium-size [600 MW(electric)] new generation reactor developed by GE, whose safety is ensured by means of passive systems (water gravity injection, pressure suppression, and passive heat removal). The RELAP5/MOD2 code is a well-known tool developed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratories and made available by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; it has been widely used and qualified all over the world. To investigate the thermal-hydraulic performance of such an innovative reactor during accident scenarios, a SBWR RELAP5/MOD2 model was developed and a selected number of transients were analyzed. The typical phenomena related to the SBWR accident behavior was investigated. A good agreement was found between the RELAP5/MOD2 code and the licensing code (TRAC-G) results. In all cases, the performance of the SBWR safety systems was also evaluated.
