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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.
Jae Ho Yang, Ki Won Kang, Kun Woo Song, Chan Bock Lee, Youn Ho Jung
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 113-119
Technical Paper | Thoria-Urania NERI | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3518
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Techniques to fabricate thorium-uranium dioxide fuel [(Th,U)O2] have been developed, and the thermal conductivity of (Th,U)O2 pellets has been measured. Mixtures of thorium dioxide (ThO2) and uranium dioxide (UO2) powders were successfully wet-milled, compacted, and sintered at 1700°C to fabricate (Th,U)O2 pellets. The wet-milling process results in a fuel density of 96 to 98% of theoretical density and a uniform distribution of the uranium and thorium in the (Th,U)O2 pellet. The laser flash method was used to measure the thermal diffusivity of the ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 pellets, and the thermal conductivities of (Th0.655U0.345)O2 and (Th0.355U0.645)O2 fuel were found to be lower than that of ThO2 or UO2 fuel. The degradation of the thermal conductivity by the UO2 substitution is great at low temperatures but decreases as the temperature increases.