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September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
R.M. Brown, G.L. Ogram, F.S. Spencer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 14 | Number 2 | September 1988 | Pages 1165-1169
Tritium Release Experiment | doi.org/10.13182/FST88-A25296
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A release of 3.54 TBq of HT was conducted over an experimental field at Chalk River consisting of a 200 m diameter grassland and a further 200 m stretch of coarse sand having sparse vegetation. Tritiated hydrogen was released at a steady rate over a 30 minute period. Atmospheric sampling for HTO and HT was done using molecular sieve and Pd-loaded molecular sieve traps. HTO/HT ratios observed during the release ranged from 1.37×10−5 at 5 m to 7.0×10−4 at 400 m distance from the release point indicating an effective oxidation rate of about 1.5%/h, confirming results obtained in a preliminary experiment in 1986. Oxidation truly in the atmosphere must be much slower than this effective rate since HTO observed in the plume could be attributed primarily to evaporation of tritium oxidized in the surface soil of the field. The distribution of HT in the plume was similar in trend to that calculated from the Gaussian Plume Model but observed concentrations were about one half of the calculated values.