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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.
Nisy E. Ipe
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 559-563
Shielding Materials | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9243
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A typical particle therapy facility consists of an injector, a cyclotron or a synchrotron, a high-energy transport beam line, several treatment rooms including fixed-beam and gantry rooms, and even a research area. During the operation of these facilities, radiation is produced with neutrons being the dominant component outside the shielding. These facilities have large amounts of shielding with concrete thicknesses ranging up to [approximately]5 m or more. Space required for shielding can be minimized by using composite shielding or high-density material such as Ledite® (manufactured by Atomic International, Frederick, Pennsylvania). Transmission data for radiation from protons and carbon ions incident on tissue targets with energies in the therapeutic energy range of interest were derived using the Monte Carlo code FLUKA for three different compositions of Ledite. Use of Ledite® or composite shielding results in space savings when compared to concrete.