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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.
G. D. Wait
Nuclear Technology | Volume 4 | Number 6 | June 1968 | Pages 440-447
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT68-A26370
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A high-sensitivity dosimeter system was developed to measure low gamma-ray dose rates in the presence of neutrons. The detector is a liquid scintillator that employs hexafluorobenzene (C6F6) as a solvent and is practically hydrogen free. The energy absorbed in the scintillator is determined directly by counting the analog-to-digital converter pulses of a multichannel analyzer in a fast scaler. The ratio of energy absorbed to air exposure dose was measured for incident gamma energies of 0.06 MeV (241Am), 0.66 MeV (137Cs), 1.25 MeV(60Co), and 4.43 MeV (241AmBe) and gave an average deviation of 3.5% from a constant ratio of energy absorbed to air exposure. A Monte Carlo computer program was written to determine the response of the scintillator to a broader range of gamma-ray energies. This indicated that the ratio of the energy absorbed to the air exposure would vary within the limits of ±10% from 50keV to 10 MeV. The response to fast neutrons also was measured and compared with calculations which showed that the major component in the neutron response was produced by β− decay following the (n,α) reaction in 19F. For the broad spectrum of incident fast neutrons (up to 11.5 MeV) from a 241AmBe source, the neutron response of the dosimeter was found to be < 8% of its response to the comparable flux of 4.43 MeV gamma rays from the source.