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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.
Ernestas Narkunas, Arturas Smaizys, Povilas Poskas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 533-536
Shielding | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Decontamination/Decommissioning | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9239
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One of the two RBMK-1500 reactor units of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania was shut down at the end of 2004 and is currently under decommissioning. The knowledge of radioactive inventory of irradiated materials is very important in the planning of the decommissioning activities and is essential for predicting the radiological impact to personnel during dismantling and management of these materials. The generated radionuclides and their radioactivities in the shield and support plates of the Ignalina Unit 1 RBMK-1500 reactor were modeled in this paper. The reactor shield and support plates, which are made of steel, become radioactive because of intensive neutron irradiation, as they are located close to the bottom and the top of the reactor active core.The assessment of radioactivity levels in shield and support plates was performed using the computer code ORIGEN-S. The list of radionuclides, their radioactivity levels, and the radioactivity dependence on the initial impurity content and cooling time were assessed in this paper. It was found that 3H, 14C, 36Cl, 55Fe, 60Co, 59Ni, and 63Ni are the main contributors to the radioactivity of the shield and support plates.