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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 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.
David Maxwell Barton
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 33 | Number 1 | July 1968 | Pages 51-55
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A20917
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Central reactivity contributions of gram-sized samples of 244Cm, 239Pu, and 235U have been obtained in a fast critical assembly of bare 239Pu in a spherical geometry. Resulting values are: 244Cm = (1276 ± 5%) cents/g at.; 239Pu = (1393 ± 3%) cents/g at.; 235U = (701 ± 2%) cents/g at. From these data, the critical mass of a bare sphere of 244Cm is estimated to be (27.7 ± 2.5) kg at a density of 13.5 g/cm3.
