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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 Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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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.
Portuphy Michael Ofotsu, Kazunari Katayama, Takahiro Matano
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | May 2024 | Pages 276-284
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2298519
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritiated water from fusion power reactors will be the next major issue when fusion technology comes fully onstream. Effective radiation protection measures will be implemented when the scope of its behavior is well understood. To understand tritium behavior in the environment, komatsuna was cultivated in tritium-contaminated peat soil. It was indicated experimentally from water immersion experiments that the amount of tissue free water tritium in komatsuna depends on the tritium concentration in the soil and that the concentration in stems and leaves in komatsuna decreases as the tritium concentration in the soil decreases. The amounts of tritium retained in the roots were much less than that in the stems and leaves.