ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
J. M. Bauer, V. Bharadwaj, H. Brogonia, M. Brugger, M. Kerimbaev, J. C. Liu, S. Mallows, A. A. Prinz, S. Roesler, S. H. Rokni, T. Sanami, M. Santana-Leitner, J. Sheppard, H. Vincke, J. Vollaire
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 3 | December 2009 | Pages 648-653
Accelerators | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (PART 3) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9283
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Samples of different solid materials as well as of water and soil were exposed to the stray radiation field created by a 28.5-GeV electron beam hitting a copper dump. After irradiation, specific activities and residual dose rates were measured at different cooling times from 1 h up to several months. Furthermore, the irradiation experiment was simulated with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The calculations included a detailed identification of interaction processes creating the different nuclides. First comparisons of experimental data on specific activities and FLUKA results indicate underestimation by FLUKA at irradiation locations laterally to the target, while the agreement seems reasonable downstream of it. The irradiation experiment, the current status of the data analysis, and a preliminary comparison with FLUKA results are presented.
