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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.
F. C. Schoenig, K. S. Quisenberry, D. P. Stricos, and H. Bernatowicz
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1966 | Pages 393-398
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE66-A17362
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The temperature dependence of the thorium-oxide resonance integral has been measured over a wide (20 to 1550 °C) temperature range. The activation method was used; the 310 keV γ ray from the decay of 233Pa was measured with a multichannel pulse-height analyzer. Measurements were performed on ThO2 rods of 0.490− and 0.353−in. diam. (surface-to-mass ratio = 0.340 and 0.465 cm2/g, respectively). The temperature dependence of the thorium-oxide resonance integral was found not to be a linear function of either (t − t0) or (√T − √T0), where t and T and centigrade and Kelvin temperature, and t0 and T0 are 20°C, and 293°K, respectively. Thus the familiar forms of the temperature dependence of the effective resonance integral, namely RI(T)/RI(T0) = 1 + α (t − t0) = 1 + β × (√T − √To) are not appropriate representations of the data. The Doppler coefficient in a 1/E spectrum is defined by α0 = [1/RI(T)] [dRI(T)/ dT] where RI(T) is the effective resonance integral of the sample excluding the 1/v contribution, and T is the temperature of the sample. It has been found that α0 = [(0.16 ± 0.01)/T] yields a good fit to the experimental data of both sample sizes. It follows that RI(T) = RI(T0) (T/T0)(0.16 ± 0.01).