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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.
M. L. Simmons, Donald J. Dudziak
Nuclear Technology | Volume 29 | Number 3 | June 1976 | Pages 337-345
Technical Paper | Fusion Reactor Material / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31599
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An essential element of any fusion or fission reactor materials development effort is the availability of irradiation facilities for conducting radiation effects experiments. A Radiation Effects Facility (REF) was provided for such studies at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. Neutron spectra at the REF can be tailored to approximate those in either a fusion or fission reactor, while providing flux levels of ∼1.4 × 1018 m−2 s−1 at design maximum beam currents. An intranuclear-cascade/evaporation model was used for computing neutron production. Detailed Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations were performed, some of which were experimentally verified in a foil dosimetry program. Such calculations provide the radiation effects experimentalist with information on spatial-spectral variations of the neutron flux over much of the easily accessible experimental volume (∼19 000 cm3), which includes irradiation specimen capsule locations and a rabbit tube. From these data, radiation damage indices such as ratios of parts per million helium to displacements per atom can be calculated and compared to those anticipated in fusion reactor blankets or fast fission reactor cores.