Investigation of photon, neutron and proton shielding features of H3BO3–ZnO–Na2O–BaO glass system

The current study aims to explore the shielding properties of multi-component borate-based glass series. Seven glass-samples with composition of (80-y)H3BO3–10ZnO–10Na2O–yBaO where (y = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mol.%) were synthesized by melt-quench method. Various shielding features for photons, neutrons, and protons were determined for all prepared samples. XCOM, Phy-X program, and SRIM code were performed to determine and explain several shielding properties such as equivalent atomic number, exposure build-up factor, specific gamma-ray constants, effective removal cross-section (SR), neutron scattering and absorption, Mass Stopping Power (MSP) and projected range. The energy ranges for photons and protons were 0.015–15 MeV and 0.01–10 MeV, respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ/?) was also determined experimentally by utilizing two radioactive sources (166Ho and 137Cs). Consistent results were obtained between experimental and XCOM values in determining µ/? of the new glasses. The addition of BaO to the glass matrix led to enhance the µ/? and specific gamma-ray constants of glasses. Whereas the remarkable reductions in SR, MSP, and projected range values were reported with increasing BaO concentrations. The acquired results nominate the use of these glasses in different radiation shielding purposes

Radioactivity of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs in beach sand and sediment near to desalination plant in eastern Saudi Arabia: Assessment of radiological impacts

Sand and sediment samples were collected from different locations along the beach near to desalination plant, which is one of the oldest and largest reverse osmosis desalination plants in Saudi Arabia, where the fluid waste is discharged. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry. Radiation hazard indices were calculated to evaluate the radiological risk for the public and environment. This study is the first to evaluate the radiological impacts in the area under investigation. The mean values of radium equivalent activity (Raeq) were 74.1 Bq kg−1 for surface sand samples, 78.8 Bq kg−1 for subsurface sand samples and 78.1 Bq kg−1 for sediments. The mean values of gamma absorbed dose rate (D) in air and annual effective dose (E) for analyzed samples were lower than the acceptable values. The external radiation hazard indices were lower than unity for all samples