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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 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!
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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.
Joel H. Ferziger, George S. C. Wang, P. F. Zweifel
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 10 | Number 3 | July 1961 | Pages 285-294
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE61-A25972
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An adaptation of Behrens' Method to the calculation of diffusion lengths in heterogeneous media is given. In all cases, the diffusion length in a medium containing absorbing lumps can be related to the self-shielding factor of the lumps. Calculations are presented only for the simplest case given but the results display considerable disagreement with a frequently used formula. On grounds which are mainly intuitive, it is believed that this method is more accurate, particularly for large moderator to absorber ratio. Final conclusions cannot be drawn, however, until more experimental data become available.