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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.
Aniruddha Kumar, R. B. Bhatt, Mohd. Afzal, J. P. Panakkal, Dhruba J. Biswas, J. Padma Nilaya, A. K. Das
Nuclear Technology | Volume 182 | Number 2 | May 2013 | Pages 242-247
Regular Technical Paper | Special Issue on the Symposium on Radiation Effects in Ceramic Oxide and Novel LWR Fuels / Decontamination/Decommissioning | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A16434
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Decontamination of fuel pins is an important process step in nuclear fuel fabrication. Decontamination assumes greater significance with respect to fuels containing plutonium, owing to both plutonium's high radiotoxicity arising from its long biological half-life and its relatively short radioactive half-life. The advantages of using a laser to decontaminate such radioactive surfaces over conventional cleaning techniques are well recognized. This paper describes detailed process optimization and field implementation of laser-assisted decontamination of fuel pins of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). A short-pulsed Nd-YAG laser has been effectively used to decontaminate the fuel pins by exposing their outer surface to laser radiation of an appropriate fluence. The laser parameters were controlled to achieve the required cleaning without causing any clad surface damage. Achievement of such was confirmed by evaluating the laser-cleaned surface using scanning electron microscopy, chemical composition studies by electron probe microanalysis, and Vicker's microhardness test.