ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
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. P. Leach, L. J. Ybarrondo, G. D. McPherson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 33 | Number 2 | April 1977 | Pages 126-149
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31772
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The first two loss-of-coolant experiments have been performed in the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) Facility. The experimental results are compared to analytical model results from the RELAP4 computer code. LOFT is a pressurized water reactor specially designed and instrumented to perform experiments representative of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in a power reactor. For these first two experiments, the nuclear core was not installed in LOFT. The first experiment was initiated from a pressure of 9.3 MPa with water at 282°C, and the break represented a half-size double-ended offset shear in the hot leg of a power reactor. The second experiment was initiated from a pressure of 15.3 MPa, a temperature of 282°C, and simulated a complete double-ended offset shear in the cold leg of a power reactor. In the first experiment, emergency core cooling was injected by low-pressure, high-pressure, and accumulator emergency core cooling systems at times representative of what would occur in a LOCA in a power reactor.