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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.
L. Heilbronn, C. J. Zeitlin, Y. Iwata, T. Murakami, T. Nakamura, S. Yonai, R. M. Ronningen, H. Iwase
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 169 | Number 3 | November 2011 | Pages 279-289
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-112
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Double-differential neutron yields from 400 MeV/nucleon 56Fe stopping in C, Al, Cu, and Pb targets are reported, along with Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) transport model calculations of the data. The yields were measured at 90, 120, and 160 deg in all four systems. Neutron energies were measured from 1 to 2 MeV up to a few hundred mega-electron-volts. The data augment previous measurements made by Kurosawa et al. that were reported for angles between 0 and 90 deg. The measurements for each target were made at two different target orientations, resulting in two different thicknesses of target that neutrons had to traverse before reaching the neutron detectors. The differences in the spectra between two different target orientations are due to neutron transport through the target and as such provide an interesting test of transport model calculations. The data indicate that PHITS reproduces the effects of neutron transport very well but may overestimate neutron production between energies of 10 to 50 MeV in some cases.