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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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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.
Noriaki Nakao, Toshiya Sanami, Tsuyoshi Kajimoto, Robert Froeschl, Davide Bozzato, Elpida Iliopoulou, Angelo Infantino, Hiroshi Yashima, Eunji Lee, Takahiro Oyama, Masayuki Hagiwara, Seiji Nagaguro, Tetsuro Matsumoto, Akihiko Masuda, Yoshitomo Uwamino, Stefan Roesler, Markus Brugger
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 2 | February 2024 | Pages 336-347
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2196228
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurements of high-energy neutrons through shield penetration and maze streaming were performed at the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) High-energy Accelerator Mixed-Field (CHARM) facility. The protons of 24 GeV/c were injected onto a 50-cm-thick copper target and the released neutrons were transmitted through shields and a maze in the facility. The transmitted neutrons in the shield and maze were measured using activation detectors placed behind various materials and thicknesses of the shields and at several locations in the maze. From the radionuclide production rates in the activation detectors, the attenuation profiles though the shield thickness and along the maze were obtained for the reactions of 209Bi(n,xn)210-xBi(x = 4–9), 27Al(n,α)24Na, 115In(n,n’)115mIn, and 12C(n,2n)11C. Monte Carlo simulations were performed with three codes, PHITS, FLUKA, and GEANT, which had good agreement with the measurements within a factor of 2 for the production rates.