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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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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.
Andrew M. Casella, Sudarshan K. Loyalka, Brady D. Hanson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 1 | April 2014 | Pages 99-114
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-55
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A model is presented for calculating depressurization time for and particulate release from used nuclear fuel dry storage containers that have developed a pinhole breach. Particular attention is given to particulate deposition and transmission within the breach pathway. The model is modular in nature and is developed in a way that allows for more advanced treatments of internal temperature, internal component geometry, or aerosol flow to be readily incorporated. The model can be treated as a basis for addressing concerns associated with monitoring and verification efforts during long-term dry cask storage.