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Open AccessArticle
Radioactive Attenuation Using Different Types of Natural Rocks
by
S. A. Abd El-Azeem
S. A. Abd El-Azeem
Dr. Samah Abdallah Abd El-Azeem
Assistant Professor of Nuclear Physics
Physics Department, College [...]
Dr. Samah Abdallah Abd El-Azeem
Assistant Professor of Nuclear Physics
Physics Department, College of Sciences and Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11757, Egypt
E-mail address:
[email protected]
E-mail address:
[email protected]
1,2,*
and
Nareman M. Harpy
Nareman M. Harpy
Dr. Nareman Mosleh Morsy Harpy
Assistant Professor of Biophysics in Geochemical Exploration Nuclear [...]
Dr. Nareman Mosleh Morsy Harpy
Assistant Professor of Biophysics in Geochemical Exploration Department, Research
Sector Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box: 530 El-Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
MSc. in Biophysics and Ph.D. in Biophysics, Ain Shams University, applying gamma-ray spectrometers (NaI and HPGe detectors),
[email protected].
3
1
Physics Department, College of Sciences and Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
2
Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11757, Egypt
3
Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530, El-Maadi, Cairo 11728, Egypt
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2024, 17(14), 3462; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17143462 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 10 June 2024
/
Revised: 30 June 2024
/
Accepted: 8 July 2024
/
Published: 12 July 2024
Abstract
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 (238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K) 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.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Abd El-Azeem, S.A.; Harpy, N.M.
Radioactive Attenuation Using Different Types of Natural Rocks. Materials 2024, 17, 3462.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17143462
AMA Style
Abd El-Azeem SA, Harpy NM.
Radioactive Attenuation Using Different Types of Natural Rocks. Materials. 2024; 17(14):3462.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17143462
Chicago/Turabian Style
Abd El-Azeem, S. A., and Nareman M. Harpy.
2024. "Radioactive Attenuation Using Different Types of Natural Rocks" Materials 17, no. 14: 3462.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17143462
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