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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.
L. A. Lawrence, D. C. Hata, J. W. Weber
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 2 | February 1979 | Pages 195-206
Technical Paper | Thorium Fuel Cycle in a Breeder Economy / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32150
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A significant reduction in and a change in the character of fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) due to a reduction in the oxygen-to-metal ratio (O/M) was established for uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide fuels clad with 20% cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel irradiated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II. Fuel pins from the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory P-23C subassembly at initial fuel O/Ms of 1.94, 1.95, and 1.97 were examined at peak burnups of 1.1, 2.5, and 3.6 at.%. The depth of FCCI increased with increasing burnup and temperature, but the relative effects of fuel O/M did not change. An approximate three-fold reduction in FCCI resulted from a reduction in fuel O/M from 1.97 to 1.95 at ∼3.6 at.%) burnup. The peak FCCI in the lower O/M fuel was ∼5 μm and appeared as a preferential loss of cladding at grain boundaries and slip planes on the cladding inner surface. In contrast, the typical FCCI in the higher O/M (1.97) fuel pin was matrix in character, and penetrated ∼14 μm into the cladding. Thus, FCCI in mixed-oxide fuel can be reduced to negligible levels by lowering the O/M during manufacture of the fuel.