Attenuation of Gamma Radiation Using ClearView Radiation ShieldingTM in Nuclear Power Plants, Hospitals and Radiopharmacies.

Radiation protection materials, such as lead (Pb), water, concrete, steel, and aluminum, have been successfully used for decades. Although they are effective shields, these materials do have limitations. For example, lead is heavy and toxic, and water and concrete must be thick to provide significant shielding, all of which renders these materials prohibitive for certain applications. For example, the half-value layer for water to shield against Co is 30.48 cm (12"), which makes it an extremely bulky material. The development of ClearView Radiation Shielding addresses some of the limitations that are faced by traditional radiation protection shields. The product is a transparent liquid gamma radiation shield that can be fabricated in custom sizes and thicknesses. Here, we describe applications of ClearView Radiation Shielding in nuclear plants and hospitals. ClearView Radiation Shielding is used to shield nuclear power plant workers from Co in critical path and high dose in refueling outages to observe automated operations inside the containment, and operations such as cylindrical frisking stations and benchtop sampling. ClearView Radiation Shielding is designed as rolling shields and radionuclide containments in hospitals to protect staff and families during unsealed radionuclide treatment such as MIBG and Lutetium therapies. For successful implementation in hospitals, the product was tested against various radioisotopes, also described in this work. Operational uses of ClearView Radiation Shielding in commercial nuclear and medical industries allows staff working in radioactive environments visibility, better communication and similar levels of radiation protection compared with traditional shielding materials. The product helps improve workflows and reduced total dose received by workers. Additionally, attenuation measurements using ClearView Radiation Shielding against multiple isotopes was performed. With 1.25 cm (0.5") ClearView Radiation Shielding thickness, the shield attenuated 1) 65% of the effective dose from I, 2) 35.15% of the effective dose from Cs, and 3) 22.5% of the effective dose from Co. Isotopes in the range of 35 keV to 1899 keV. 3.81 were attenuated greater than 90% with a ClearView Radiation Shielding shield thickness of 7.62 cm (3"). The half-value layer for Co with a ClearView Radiation Shielding thickness of 3.81 cm (1.5") attenuated the effective dose of F gammas by 85.59%. With a density of 2.3 g cm, ClearView Radiation Shielding was measured to be half the weight of lead for equal shielding. ClearView Radiation Shielding is transparent, lightweight, and an alternative material to conventional radiation shields to reduce radiation exposure.

Radiation Attenuation and Stability of ClearView Radiation Shielding TM-A Transparent Liquid High Radiation Shield.

Radiation exposure is a limiting factor to work in sensitive environments seen in nuclear power and test reactors, medical isotope production facilities, spent fuel handling, etc. The established choice for high radiation shielding is lead (Pb), which is toxic, heavy, and abidance by RoHS. Concrete, leaded (Pb) bricks are used as construction materials in nuclear facilities, vaults, and hot cells for radioisotope production. Existing transparent shielding such as leaded glass provides minimal shielding attenuation in radiotherapy procedures, which in some cases is not sufficient. To make working in radioactive environments more practicable while resolving the lead (Pb) issue, a transparent, lightweight, liquid, and lead-free high radiation shield-ClearView Radiation Shielding-(Radium Incorporated, 463 Dinwiddie Ave, Waynesboro, VA). was developed. This paper presents the motivation for developing ClearView, characterization of certain aspects of its use and performance, and its specific attenuation testing. Gamma attenuation testing was done using a 1.11 × 10 Bq Co source and ANSI/HPS-N 13.11 standard. Transparency with increasing thickness, time stability of liquid state, measurements of physical properties, and performance in freezing temperatures are reported. This paper also presents a comparison of ClearView with existing radiation shields. Excerpts from LaSalle nuclear power plant are included, giving additional validation. Results demonstrated and strengthened the expected performance of ClearView as a radiation shield. Due to the proprietary nature of the work, some information is withheld.