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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.
Stacey F. Imboden, Thomas J. Overcamp
Nuclear Technology | Volume 155 | Number 1 | July 2006 | Pages 114-118
Technical Note | Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3750
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
CAP88-PC, Version 2.0, and NORMTRI, which are based on the Gaussian plume model, were used to estimate the chronic dose due to a continuous, ground-level, atmospheric release of tritium as tritiated water. For the same conditions the predictions of CAP88-PC were found to be higher by a factor of 3 or less than those of NORMTRI. The major differences are due to the use of higher dose coefficients in CAP88-PC and NORMTRI's method of calculating the tritium content of food.
