Conventional and new lead-free radiation shielding materials for radiation protection in nuclear medicine: A review

Abualroos, Nadin Jamal; Amin, Noorfatin Aida Baharul; Zainon, Rafidah

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108439

Cited by 231 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although radiation-shielding equipment in medical institutions relies mainly on lead, owing to its toxicity, alternatives are urgently sought 32,33,34,35 . This study investigated the potential of powdered oyster shell as a new eco-friendly shielding material.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Medical Radiation Shield Using Density-Enhanced Recycled Oyster Shells

Kim

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As radiation-based techniques become an increasingly important tool for medical diagnostics, medical professionals face an increasing risk from the long-term effects of scattered radiation exposure. Although existing radiation-shielding products used in medicine are traditionally lead-based, recently, attention has turned to the development of more eco-friendly materials such as tungsten, bismuth, and barium sulfate. To date, however, the proposed alternative materials have struggled to compete with lead in terms of shielding performance and economic feasibility. This study explores the potential of radiation shielding materials based on the shells of bivalve mollusks such as oysters that are discarded from aquaculture, thereby preventing them from going to landfill. In addition, a firing process for enhancing the shielding performance of the original material is proposed. Experiments showed that shielding sheets comprising 0.3-mm-thick layers of oyster shell achieve a shielding efficiency of 37.32% for the low-energy X-rays typically encountered in medical institutions. In addition, the shielding performance was improved by increasing the density of the powdered oyster shell via plastic working at 1,200°C. This raises the possibility of developing multi-material radiation shields and highlights a new potential avenue for recycling aquacultural waste.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Medical Radiation Shield Using Density-Enhanced Recycled Oyster Shells

Kim

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An alternative to concrete, lead (Pb) and Pb-containing materials (manufactured in various shapes—slabs, plates, and sheets, etc.) possess excellent X -ray and γ -ray attenuation capacity, but ‘Pb’ has disadvantages, such as low melting point (600.6 K), and is detrimental to human health and the surrounding environment [ 6 , 7 ]. For these reasons, in recent times, different research groups have actively focused their efforts on finding suitable replacement materials for concrete and ‘Pb’, e.g., glasses, which demonstrate encouraging characteristics, such as low cost, medium to high density ( ρ ), structural stability with prolonged irradiation, high mechanical and thermal strength, better optical (visible light) transparency, nontoxicity (100% recyclable), and environmental safety [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed Inspection of γ-ray, Fast and Thermal Neutrons Shielding Competence of Calcium Oxide or Strontium Oxide Comprising Bismuth Borate Glasses

Lakshminarayana

Elmahroug

Kumar³

et al. 2021

Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For both the B2O3-Bi2O3-CaO and B2O3-Bi2O3-SrO glass systems, γ-ray and neutron attenuation qualities were evaluated. Utilizing the Phy-X/PSD program, within the 0.015–15 MeV energy range, linear attenuation coefficients (µ) and mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) were calculated, and the attained μ/ρ quantities match well with respective simulation results computed by MCNPX, Geant4, and Penelope codes. Instead of B2O3/CaO or B2O3/SrO, the Bi2O3 addition causes improved γ-ray shielding competence, i.e., rise in effective atomic number (Zeff) and a fall in half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP). Exposure buildup factors (EBFs) and energy absorption buildup factors (EABFs) were derived using a geometric progression (G–P) fitting approach at 1–40 mfp penetration depths (PDs), within the 0.015–15 MeV range. Computed radiation protection efficiency (RPE) values confirm their excellent capacity for lower energy photons shielding. Comparably greater density (7.59 g/cm3), larger μ, μ/ρ, Zeff, equivalent atomic number (Zeq), and RPE, with the lowest HVL, TVL, MFP, EBFs, and EABFs derived for 30B2O3-60Bi2O3-10SrO (mol%) glass suggest it as an excellent γ-ray attenuator. Additionally, 30B2O3-60Bi2O3-10SrO (mol%) glass holds a commensurably bigger macroscopic removal cross-section for fast neutrons (ΣR) (=0.1199 cm−1), obtained by applying Phy-X/PSD for fast neutrons shielding, owing to the presence of larger wt% of ‘Bi’ (80.6813 wt%) and moderate ‘B’ (2.0869 wt%) elements in it. 70B2O3-5Bi2O3-25CaO (mol%) sample (B: 17.5887 wt%, Bi: 24.2855 wt%, Ca: 11.6436 wt%, and O: 46.4821 wt%) shows high potentiality for thermal or slow neutrons and intermediate energy neutrons capture or absorption due to comprised high wt% of ‘B’ element in it.

show abstract

“…Thus, it motivates interests in finding non-toxic, light, flexible and low-cost radiation shielding materials to replace lead. There is an urgent needs to replace lead radiation shielding material for radiation protection [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tungsten-based material as promising new lead-free gamma radiation shielding material in nuclear medicine

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of tungsten carbide as new lead-free radiation shielding material in nuclear medicine by evaluating the attenuation properties. Materials and methods: The elemental composition of tungsten carbide was analysed using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The purity of tungsten carbide was 99.9%, APS: 40-50 µm. Three discs of tungsten carbide was fabricated with thickness of 0.1 cm, 0.5 cm and 1.0 cm. Three lead discs with similar thickness were used to compare the attenuation properties with tungsten carbide discs. Energy calibration of gamma spectroscopy was performed by using 123 I, 133 Ba, 152 Eu, and 137 Cs. Gamma radiation from these sources were irradiated on both materials at energies ranging from 0.160 MeV to 0.779 MeV. The experimental attenuation coefficients of lead and tungsten carbide were compared with theoretical attenuation coefficients of both materials from NIST database. The half value layer and mean free path of both materials were also evaluated in this study. Results: This study found that the peaks obtained from gamma spectroscopy have linear relationship with all energies used in this study. The relative differences between the measured and theoretical mass attenuation coefficients are within 0.19-5.11% for both materials. Tungsten carbide has low half value layer and mean free path compared to lead for all thickness at different energies. Conclusion:This study shows that tungsten carbide has high potential to replace lead as new lead-free radiation shielding material in nuclear medicine.

show abstract

Conventional and new lead-free radiation shielding materials for radiation protection in nuclear medicine: A review

Cited by 231 publications

References 56 publications

Development of Medical Radiation Shield Using Density-Enhanced Recycled Oyster Shells

Development of Medical Radiation Shield Using Density-Enhanced Recycled Oyster Shells

Detailed Inspection of γ-ray, Fast and Thermal Neutrons Shielding Competence of Calcium Oxide or Strontium Oxide Comprising Bismuth Borate Glasses

Tungsten-based material as promising new lead-free gamma radiation shielding material in nuclear medicine

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About