Development of special radiation shielding concretes using natural local materials and evaluation of their shielding characteristics

Concrete is one of the most important materials used for radiation shielding in facilities containing radioactive sources and radiation generating machines. The concrete shielding properties may vary depending on the composite of the concrete. Aggregates is the largest constituent (about 70-80% of the total weight of normal concrete). The aim of this work is to develop special concrete with good shielding properties for gamma and neutrons, using natural local materials. For this reason two types of typical concrete widely used in Syria (in Damascus and Aleppo) and four other types of concrete, using aggregates from different regions, have been prepared. The shielding properties of these six types were studied for gamma ray (from Cs-137 and Co-60 sources)and for neutrons (from am-Be source). A reduction of about 10% in the HVL was obtained for the concrete from Damascus in comparison with that from Aleppo, for both neutrons and gammas. One of the other four types of concrete (from Rajo site, mostly Hematite), was found to further reduce the HVL by about 10% for both neutrons and gamma rays.(author)