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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 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.
Masato Takahashi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 135 | Number 3 | September 2001 | Pages 230-240
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3218
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new method for off-gas source estimation in plants with nondefective fuel is proposed. This method based on the activity ratio between 138Xe and 88Kr is able to directly estimate the off-gas source using only measurement data. The 138Xe to 88Kr activity ratio is decided on the basis of the fissile irradiation with the different neutron spectrum in the core region and the fission fragment emission rate into coolant. This method was applied to actual plant data, and it was demonstrated that the dominant source of off-gas in a plant with nondefective fuel is Pu produced by the burnup of uranium impurities in the core structure. The concentration of uranium impurities in cladding estimated by this method is consistent with the result of neutron activation analysis.
