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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.
August W. Cronenberg, Douglas W. Croucher, Philip E. MacDonald
Nuclear Technology | Volume 67 | Number 2 | November 1984 | Pages 312-325
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT84-A33519
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel melting in severe core damage accidents will lead to the rapid release of fission gas from the fuel matrix and the volatilization of low boiling point metallic inclusions, which can be expected to significantly influence molten fuel dynamics. A quantitative analysis of UO2 foaming potential is based on an assessment of the time characteristics for bubble growth, surface escape, film thinning, and bubble coalescence. Analysis indicates that although the potential exists for early molten UO2 foaming, such foams are basically unstable and tend to collapse, thereby releasing volatilized fission products from the molten fuel debris. Release of such fission products will impact radiological source term evaluation and can result in up to a 40% reduction in the residual decay heat within the core debris. This reduction in core debris heat level will influence the timing and meltdown sequence for such accidents and can impact the heat load requirements of residual heat removal systems or other engineered melt mitigation devices.