Shielding Ability of a Novel Iron Ceramic Material for Gamma-Rays

Abstract

 Radiation shielding is one of the necessary procedures in radiation protection. The lead blocks are commonly used to shield against gamma- and X-rays. However, due to lead's biotoxicity, the development of alternative materials is required. We developed a novel ceramic product as a non-biotoxic shielding material composed mainly of iron (III) oxide. In this study, the radiation shielding performance against gamma-rays was evaluated and its potential as a radiation shielding material was investigated. We measured the gamma-ray amount transmitted through the ceramic specimens using a NaI scintillation counter with three different gamma sources (¹³³Ba, ¹³⁷Cs, and ⁶⁰Co). The order of shielding ability of the sample with the same volume was lead > iron > the ceramics. The effects of piling the blocks and the type of jointing agent used in the gaps on the shielding ability were also observed for considering actual use.