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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
D. Rochman, A. J. Koning, D. F. Da Cruz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 179 | Number 3 | September 2012 | Pages 323-338
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors/Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-61
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effects of nuclear data uncertainties (cross sections, neutron emissions, fission yields, and decay data) on the burnup of a typical pressurized water reactor fuel element are presented in this paper. The uncertainties on reactivity swing, inventory, and radiotoxicity are obtained using a Monte Carlo method for nuclear data uncertainty propagation and the Monte Carlo transport code SERPENT. The impact of the nuclear data uncertainties for the two main actinide isotopes at the beginning of irradiation (235U and 238U) with the third and fourth most abundant actinide isotopes at the end of irradiation (236U and 239Pu) are calculated, showing the importance of fission yield data relative to transport data.