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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.
William Primak
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 80 | Number 4 | April 1982 | Pages 689-699
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE82-A18978
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A short ion bombardment greatly increases the hot saline etching or leaching of silicate glasses. The effect was observed for xenon, argon, neon, helium, and deuterium ion bombardment. From the relative values of the effect produced by the several ions, it was demonstrated that the effect is associated with the hot secondaries. The hot saline can cause the complete removal of material, thus producing a depression of an irradiated area, which was measured interferometrically, or it may cause a leaching of the cationic content of the glass and leave a silaceous residual film, which was studied by obtaining its spectral reflectivity. Other glasses may behave in an intermediate manner leading to some depression and some film residue. The glasses studied were soda-lime glass, light barium crown (28% BaO), and two facsimile radioactive waste storage glasses. The first two showed the enhanced etching, the first waste storage glass a tenacious film, and the second waste storage glass showed the intermediate behavior, some etching, and some film residue. The enhancement of the etching rate of the light barium crown glass was calculated as some fivefold, for the soda-lime glass about elevenfold. Enhancement of the leaching rate of the first waste storage glass was ∼2½ for helium ion bombardment and over 3½ for xenon or neon ion bombardment.