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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.
Paul McConnell, Richard Salzbrenner, Gerald W. Wellman, Ken B. Sorenson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 104 | Number 2 | November 1993 | Pages 171-181
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Waste Management / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34881
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Depleted uranium (DU) alloys are currently used for gamma-ray shielding in casks and as shielding blocks. For the transport cask application, a significant weight and dimensional penalty exists when using the DU solely for shielding. If credit could be taken for the structural use of the DU for containment in a transport cask, greater payloads may be realized. Mechanical property measurements of several uranium alloys and finite element analyses of prototype transport casks assumed to be constructed, in part, from selected uranium materials were performed to evaluate the potential for the use of DU alloys for cask containment. These data and analyses support the concept of the use of DU alloys for the containment function even under hypothetical accident conditions. A conclusion is that the properties of certain DU alloys are therefore sufficient to warrant further consideration of the material for this purpose.