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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 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.
J. I. Katz
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 168 | Number 2 | June 2011 | Pages 164-171
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-19
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper reviews measurements of fission cross sections of short-lived nuclear states, summarizes the formidable experimental difficulties involved, and suggests novel methods of overcoming some of those difficulties. It is specifically concerned with the two such states that have been well characterized, the J = 1/2+ (26-min) isomeric 235mU and the J = 1- (16-h) ground state (shorter lived than the isomer) 242gsAm, and with measuring their fission cross sections at mega-electron-volt energies. These measurements are formidably difficult, partly because of the need to produce, separate, and collect the short-lived states before they decay and partly because of their comparatively small fission cross sections at these energies. This paper presents quantitative calculations of the efficiency of advection of recoiling 235mU isomers by flowing gas in competition with diffusive loss to the surface containing the mother 239Pu, and it reports the initial development and evaluation of some of the methods that must be developed to make the experiments feasible.