Radioactive Attenuation Using Different Types of Natural Rocks

Humans benefit from nuclear technology, but it also generates nuclear radiation that is bad for both the environment and human health. The serious issue of radiation leakage affects many technological applications. Shielding is required to protect both users and the environment from negative side ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2024-07, Vol.17 (14), p.3462
Main Authors: Abd El-Azeem, S A, Harpy, Nareman M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attenuation coefficients
Basalt
Bentonite
Clay
Correlation coefficients
Environmental protection
Gamma rays
Iron
Lead
Mathematical analysis
Minerals
Nuclear energy
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear radiation
Quartz
Radiation
Radiation shielding
Radiation, Background
Radioisotopes
Radium 226
Rocks
Sandstone
Sensors
Side effects
Stone
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Summary:Humans benefit from nuclear technology, but it also generates nuclear radiation that is bad for both the environment and human health. The serious issue of radiation leakage affects many technological applications. Shielding is required to protect both users and the environment from negative side effects. This work describes the radioactive attenuation properties of some natural rocks, such as claystone, bentonitic claystone, bentonitic shale, sandstone, and basalt using a NaI(Tl) detector. The mass attenuation coefficients μm of these rocks at various photon energies, half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP) were determined. The validation of obtained values of μm was carried out against the theoretical calculations from the XCOM program, and the correlation factor and relative deviation between the two methods were evaluated. It was noted that basalt samples exhibit superior shielding parameters when compared to other rock samples. Also, the concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive elements ( U, Ra, Th, and K) were measured, allowing for the calculation of environmental hazard indices and assessment of attenuation (%) efficiency for certain natural rocks, such as bentonite, sandstone, and basalt. The results revealed that increasing the thickness of Basalt-AZ from 1.5 cm to 2 cm results in an approximate 11% rise in attenuation percentage, with values reaching 77.12%, 67.2%, 67.65%, and 59.8% for NMA-U, IAEA-Th, IAEA-Ra, and IAEA-K, respectively.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma17143462