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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.
Fumihisa Nagase, Takashi Ohtomo, Hiroshi Uetsuka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 3 | March 2022 | Pages 484-493
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1905472
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A control rod alloy composed of silver (Ag), indium (In), and cadmium (Cd) was heated in argon or oxygen at 1073 to 1673 K for 60 to 3600 s. Then, the release behaviors of the elements were analyzed. The elemental release was quite limited below the liquefaction temperature. In argon, almost the entire Cd content was released within 3600 s at >1173 K and within 60 s at >1573 K while the released fractions of Ag and In were <3% and <8%, respectively. In oxygen, the release of Cd, which was quite small at temperatures lower than 1573 K, largely increased to ~30% to 50% at 1673 K for short periods. The releases of Ag and In were also small in oxygen under the analyzed conditions. The comparison with the experimental data suggests that conventional empirical release models may underestimate the Cd release at lower temperatures just after control rod failure in severe accidents.