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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.
Edward W. Larsen, G. C. Pomraning
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 109 | Number 1 | September 1991 | Pages 49-75
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE91-A23844
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The PN theory is shown to be an asymptotic limit of transport theory for an optically thick planar-geometry system with small absorption and highly anisotropic scattering. The asymptotic analysis shows that the solution in the interior of the system is described by the standard PN equations for which initial, boundary, and interface conditions are determined by asymptotic initial, boundary layer, and interface layer calculations. The asymptotic initial, (reflecting) boundary, and interface conditions for the PN equations agree with conventional formulations. However, at a boundary having a prescribed incident flux, the asymptotic boundary layer analysis yields PN boundary conditions that differ from previous formulations. Numerical transport and PN results are presented to substantiate this asymptotic theory.
