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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.
Kazumi Iwamoto
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 18 | Number 2 | February 1964 | Pages 189-199
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE64-A18318
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Irradiated UO2 graphite fuel samples in which most of the fission products had recoiled into the graphite matrix were heated after irradiation, and then leached with nitric acid. The leach-ability of non-gaseous fission products was influenced by fission product concentration, by irradiation temperature, and largely by temperature and period of the heating. A possible rate-controlling mechanism for the fission product loss during the heating is discussed, and the results obtained are compared with some of the earlier work. The data may be interpreted as indicating that the fission products migrate through the graphite crystal to its surface according to a fast and a slow migration step. Escape from the graphite matrix by volatilization is apparently less rapid than the fast migration step; volatilization may be the rate-limiting mechanism in the loss process.
