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.
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2023)
Dr. Kenneth Kunkel is an Atmospheric Sciences Professor at North Carolina State University and Lead Scientist for Assessments with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. He holds a B.S. degree in Physics from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research has focused on climate variability and change, particularly related to extreme weather and climate events. He is an author on the Third (2014) and Fourth (2018) U.S. National Climate Assessments, lead author on the North Carolina Climate Science Report (2020), and an author on recent climate assessments for the Great Lakes (2019) and Illinois (2021). He has published over 170 scientific journal articles and book chapters. He is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Last modified June 21, 2023, 9:15am EDT
