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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
Daniel L. Jassby, John A. Schmidt
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 40 | Number 1 | July 2001 | Pages 52-55
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A179
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The electrical energy requirements and costs of accelerator transmutation of waste (ATW) and fusion plants designed to transmute nuclides of fission wastes are compared. Both systems use the same blanket concept, but tritium breeding is taken into account for the fusion system. The ATW and fusion plants are found to have the same electrical energy requirement per available blanket neutron when the blanket coverage is comparable and the fusion energy gain is near breakeven (Q [approximately equal to] 1), but the fusion plant has only a fraction of the energy requirement when Q >> 1. If the blanket thermal energy is converted to electricity, the fusion plant and ATW have comparable net electrical energy outputs per available neutron when Q 1.5 and the blanket neutron multiplication is large.