Variations In Radiation Shielding Materials

Posted by Steven J. Stanek on September 25th, 2019

Till date, lead has been considered as one of the most common radiation shielding materials used. There are many reasons for using lead as it is durable and cost-effective. Apart from this, lead is a metal that is also easily available.

When speaking of its environmental friendliness, lead is not considered to be environment-friendly metal. Due to health hazards, manufacturers are shifting towards more eco-friendly material. Selecting of thermoplastic material has offered with numerous benefits within radiation shielding industry.

Benefits of using a thermoplastic material

One of the major advantages of using thermoplastic material for radiation shielding is that it saves our environment. Manufacturers don’t have to be concerned about the damaging effects of mining. The steps involved in processing this material are also simple. It is easy to process and use as it can be shaped into any dimension.

The main advantage is that disposing of thermoplastic material is much easier as compared to lead disposal. This new material has emerged as more popular radiation shielding materials to be used in medical and ammunition industry.

Variations used in lead shielding type materials

As far as radiation is concerned, it is believed to offer with adverse effects on our environment and health. The selection of gammaray shielding material has to be done wisely. Some common variations of these materials used are mentioned here below.

Traditional shielding material

To make the lead more affordable and easy to use, manufacturers are trying to use purest form of lead mixed with vinyl material. This material offers perfect radiation shielding and is also easy to manage and dispose as compared to traditional pure lead.

The material is used within the medical industry and ammunition industry as it is resistant to corrosion and is also malleable to certain extent. The final material prepared is much flexible as compared to traditional lead.

This type of material is also considered more cost-effective and lightweight. It is more durable and offers with perfect gamma ray shielding.

Composite material

Certain specialized types of composites are also mixed along with lead to form a much durable and radiation-resistant material. This type of material as it is not pure lead is also much lightweight material.

It can be shaped into any shape using advanced techniques. This makes the material more preferred in ammunition and medical equipment industry.

Another major advantage of this material is that it can offer a better level of protection against radiation and heat loss on account of radiation.

Lead-free material

This is a combination of composite and plastic material that makes the final product more durable and lightweight. The cost of production of this material is also very low as composite polymers are easily available.

The material can be engineered into any possible shape or dimension. The material completely lacks any traces of lead and is thus called a lead free material. This is also one of the most preferred radiation shielding materials widely used today.

The best part is that manufacturers don’t have to make use of any specialized techniques to manufacture this material. It is certainly considered as the best replacement for lead metal.

Steven J. Stanek usually writes articles and blogs related to industrial Mechanism and Products, In this article he writes about radiation shielding and radiation shielding materials. He has been vehemently writing articles for ecomass.com.