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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.
Eri Kanamori
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 9 | September 2021 | Pages 1442-1455
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1865028
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of this paper is to show that the responsibility of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO) was “economized” in the wake of the accident. It is argued that responsibility for the nuclear accident was mainly linked to economic responsibility, and that social and moral responsibility were consequently obscured by the financial accounting that followed the accident. This paper also proposes that the responsibility for the accident should not be limited to TEPCO, but that the responsibility of the nuclear industry and regulatory bodies should be more strongly emphasized in order to prevent such accidents in the future. These conclusions are consistent with some of the literature that emerged following the Fukushima accident. The theoretical framework is derived from sociological studies on quantification and accounting literature on economizing. TEPCO’s accounts, the special business plans of TEPCO and the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation, and documentation from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are the main sources that are consulted in this paper.