Gamma Ray Shielding from Saudi White Sand
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Abstract
This study is a comparison of gamma ray linear attenuation coefficient of two typs of shielding materials made of Saudi white and red sand. Each shield was consisted of one part of cement two parts of sand in addi-tion to water. Different thicknesses were tested. The concentrations of all elements in each shield material were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The results obtained from the ICP-MS were used in MCNP4B (Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Computer Code System) [1] to calculate the attenuation coefficient. The theoretical (MCNP4B) and the experimental calculations were found to be in a good agreement. In the casw of the largest thickness used, 28cm, the gamma ray intensity passing through the white sand shield was approximately half of the intensity obtained through the red sand shield. The average linear attenuation coefficients were found to be 0.17cm-1 and 0.15cm-1 for white and red sand shields respectively. The study shows that white sand is better for attenuating gamma ray compared to the red sand.
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