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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.
R. C. Lloyd, S. R. Bierman, E. D. Clayton
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 55 | Number 1 | September 1974 | Pages 51-57
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE74-A23965
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results are presented from a series of criticality experiments with homogeneous plutonium-uranium fuel mixtures with plutonium content in the range of 5 to 8 wt%. The H:(Pu+U) atomic ratios covered a range from 19.5 to a high of 80.7: the experiments provide data in the region of moderation where the minimum critical volume occurs for homogeneous plutonium-uranium systems with a plutonium content of 8 wt%. The minimum critical spherical radius for material containing 8 wt% Pu in PuO2-UO2-water mixtures was determined to be 14.98 cm., The criticality factors were computed with neutron transport theory and Monte Carlo calculations, using the DTF-IV and the KENO-II codes with both ENDF/B-II and ENDF/B-III version cross sections. The calculated values were found to be within ±2% of unity.