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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.
Patrick F. O’Rourke, Anil K. Prinja
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 197 | Number 3 | March 2023 | Pages 463-471
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2106728
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We explore two methods for determining the probability that a neutron, upon leaking, will transfer from one spherical assembly to another, namely, the view factor method (VFM) and the sphere point picking method (SPPM). The VFM is an approximate analytical method that assumes the neutron is leaking from a point source, and therefore, has applicability limitations. The SPPM is a purely Monte Carlo method that samples a location on the surface of a sphere as well as a trajectory leading away from said system to then determine if the neutron streams into another assembly. Numerical results from the two methods are contrasted, and the relative merits of each method discussed.