Abstract
As radiation-based techniques become increasingly important tools for medical diagnostics, medical professionals face increasing risk from the long-term effects of scattered radiation exposure. Although existing radiation-shielding products used in medicine are traditionally lead-based, recently, the development of more eco-friendly materials such as tungsten, bismuth, and barium sulfate has drawn attention. However, lead continues to be superior to the proposed alternative materials in terms of shielding efficiency and cost effectiveness. This study explores the feasibility of radiation shielding materials based on the shells of bivalve mollusks such as oysters that are discarded from aquaculture, thereby preventing them from going into landfills. In addition, a firing process for enhancing the shielding efficiency of the original material is proposed. Experiments show that shielding sheets comprising 0.3 mm thick layers of oyster shell achieve a shielding efficiency of 37.32% for the low-energy X-rays typically encountered in medical institutions. In addition, the shielding efficiency was improved by increasing the density of the powdered oyster shell via plastic working at 1200 °C. This raises the possibility of developing multi-material radiation shields and highlights a new potential avenue for recycling aquaculture waste.
Highlights
Scattered radiation poses the risk of long-term exposure among medical professionals working in hospital radiography facilities [1,2,3]
This study evaluated the shielding performance by manufacturing a radiation shielding sheet that can be used in medical institutions using oyster shell powder that is discarded as daily waste
The manufactured oyster shell shielding sheet showed an average of 32%
Summary
Scattered radiation poses the risk of long-term exposure among medical professionals working in hospital radiography facilities [1,2,3]. To address this problem, the development of new radiation-shielding materials, with lighter, more eco-friendly materials including tungsten, bismuth, barium, boron, and tin among the proposed alternatives is extensively studied [10,11,12,13,14]. The development of new radiation-shielding materials, with lighter, more eco-friendly materials including tungsten, bismuth, barium, boron, and tin among the proposed alternatives is extensively studied [10,11,12,13,14] These lead substitutes are not susceptible to the risks associated with heavy metals; to be used for radiationshielding sheets, they must be compatible with polymeric materials [15,16]. Researchers face the challenge of providing shielding materials that are economical and that meet weight and human safety requirements
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