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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.
Sylver Heinze, Thibaut Stolz, Didier Ducret, Jean-Claude Colson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 1 | July-August 2005 | Pages 673-679
Technical Paper | Tritium Science and Technology - Properties, Reactions, and Applications | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A1014
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Radioactive decay of tritium contained in tritiated water leads to the production of gaseous helium and, through self-radiolysis, to the formation of molecular hydrogen and oxygen. For safety management of tritiated water storage, it is essential to be able to predict pressure increase resulting from this phenomenon. The present study aims to identify the mechanisms that take place in self-radiolysis of chemically pure liquid tritiated water. The evolution of the concentration of hydrogen and oxygen in the gas phase of closed vessels containing tritiated water has been followed experimentally. Simulation of pure water radiolysis has been carried out using data from the literature. In order to fit experimental results, simulation should take into account gas phase recombination reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. A simplified system has been extracted from the complete chemical system used to simulate radiolysis. This system allows identifying the basic mechanisms that are responsible for tritiated water self-radiolysis.