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.
J. M. Cano, R. Caro, J. M. Martnez-Val
Nuclear Technology | Volume 48 | Number 3 | May 1980 | Pages 251-260
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT80-A32471
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A nuclear fuel storage pool has to be designed to ensure subcriticality under any conditions. Within this framework, a peculiar moderation phenomenon that yields supercritical states from accidental (though very unlikely) circumstances is analyzed. Namely, in an overmoderated spent fuel pool, a reduction in the water density can lead to an increase in reactivity. Equally, a dry storage might be accidentally filled with water mist or foam, leading to a critical state. A numerical assessment is presented to point out the phenomenon and to clarify it. The dependence of results upon calculation methodologies and assumptions is also analyzed. The conclusion is reached that current methods with a slightly large number of energy groups should be used in this task. It is also found that poisoning the storage with a strong neutron absorber should avoid the aforementioned super-criticality.