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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 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!
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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.
S. R. Bierman, B. M. Durst, E. D. Clayton, R. I. Scherpelz, Howard T. Kerr
Nuclear Technology | Volume 44 | Number 1 | June 1979 | Pages 141-151
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32247
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of criticality experiments with fast test reactor (FTR) fuel pins in water has been performed in support of the Advanced Fuel Recycle Program (AFRP). The objective of these experiments was to provide clean, easily defined criticality data on AFRP-type fuel pins in water for use in verifying calculational techniques and nuclear data used in calculations. Measurement data were obtained on water-flooded square lattices of FTR fuel pins. The number of fuel pins required for criticality was determined at lattice pitches of 7.7, 9.5, 9.7, 12.6, 15.3, and 19.1 mm to be 1268, 605, 580, 219, 205, and 162, respectively. These center-to-center fuel pin spacings correspond to water-to-fuel volume ratios of 1.61, 3.33, 3.49, 6.81, 10.88, and 17.53, respectively, and cover the neutron moderation range from near optimum to the highly undermoderated. KENO-IV calculations with ENDF data from the AMPX system overestimated the experimental results by 1 to 2% in keff. KENO-IV calculations with FLANGE-ETOG-THERMOS-EGGNIT-processed ENDF data resulted in calculated values 1 to 6% high in keff.
