Evaluation of the Capability of Utilizing the Local Soil as a Nuclear Radiation Shielding Materials

Abstract

There are many events that may lead to exposure to radiation. In this work, the feasibility of using national soil types as nuclear shields was studied. Studies on evaluating the shielding capability of soils are still rare, therefore meaning more researches are necessary to check their performance and efficiency to attenuate radiation. Coefficients of mass attenuation for soil samples have been obtained at most common neutron and gamma energy. Then, the value of effective atomic number and half value layer have been by applying the µ/ρ values. Materials were sorted according to their sources and the geographical area from which it was taken into four main categories into four main categories (A, B, C, and D). C sample show high shielding capability to attenuate gamma and thermal neutron compared with others.