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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.
Masaaki Mori, Mitsuru Kawamura, Akio Yamamoto
Nuclear Technology | Volume 117 | Number 2 | February 1997 | Pages 171-183
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35323
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results are presented of a conceptual design study of a transuranium (TRU) fuel assembly consisting of only plutonium and minor actinide (MA) oxides for transmutation of MAs in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The average plutonium content of the TRU transmutation fuel assembly in this study is 38 wt% Putot, and the average MA content is 62 wt%. The fuel rod arrangement and the plutonium content are optimized to suppress the internal power peaking in the fuel assembly. Core characteristics and TRU inventory change are evaluated for an 870-MW(electric) PWR core loaded heterogeneously with a few TRU transmutation fuel assemblies. The maximum loading of the TRU transmutation fuel is limited to nine assemblies to maintain a negative moderator temperature coefficient at the beginning of cycle, while satisfying a cycle length of 15.2 GWd/tonne U. By loading nine TRU transmutation fuel assemblies, the total MA inventory in the core decreases by —65 kg/cycle, which is approximately equivalent to that produced from three UO2 reactors. The heterogeneous loading of a few fuel assemblies with highly concentrated TRU in a PWR is found to be feasible for the effective transmutation of MAs while maintaining reactor safety.
