Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Radiation shielding properties of weathered soils: Influence of the chemical composition and granulometric fractions

  • Pires, Luiz F. (Laboratory of Physics Applied to Soils and Environmental Sciences, Department of Physics, State University of Ponta Grossa)
  • Received : 2021.11.05
  • Accepted : 2022.04.02
  • Published : 2022.09.25
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Abstract

Soils are porous materials with high shielding capability to attenuate gamma and X-rays. The disposal of radionuclides throughout the soil profile can expose the living organisms to ionizing radiation. Thus, studies aiming to analyze the shielding properties of the soils are of particular interest for radiation shielding. Investigations on evaluating the shielding capabilities of highly weathered soils are still scarce, meaning that additional research is necessary to check their efficiency to attenuate radiation. In this study, the radiation shielding properties of contrasting soils were evaluated. The radiation interaction parameters assessed were attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half- and tenth-value layers. At low photon energies, the photoelectric absorption contribution to the attenuation coefficient predominated, while at intermediate and high photon energies, the incoherent scattering and pair production were the dominant effects. Soils with the highest densities presented the best shielding properties, regardless of their chemical compositions. Increases in the attenuation coefficient and decreases in shielding parameters of the soils were associated with increases in clay, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 amounts. In addition, this paper provides a comprehensive description of the shielding properties of weathered soils showing the importance of their granulometric fractions and oxides to the attenuation of the radiation.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Luiz F. Pires would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) through Grant 304925/2019-5 (Productivity in Research).

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