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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 Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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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.
K. Böhnel
Nuclear Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | September 1973 | Pages 199-201
Technical Paper | Analysis | doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A15882
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The assay of a light water reactor rod for its fissile uranium content can be accomplished by irradiating the rod in a water bath with neutrons from an antimony-beryllium source. The different slowing down properties of the moderator for neutrons of different energy cause a much stronger attenuation of the source neutron flux than of the flux originating from the induced fissions. At 25 cm from the source, the fission neutrons already contribute 20% to the signal measured by ordinary thermal-neutron detectors, allowing determination of their intensity as a measure of the fissile content of the rod. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that a 30-mCi source is sufficient to attain 1% precision in 1 min.
