The Radiation Attenuation Property of High-Density Polyethylene Doped with Zinc Oxide as an Alternative Gonadal Shield
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32871/rmrj25si.t2415Keywords:
radiation shielding, half-value layer, high-density polyethylene, zinc oxideAbstract
Background: The study investigated the radiation attenuation properties of high-density polyethylene doped with zinc oxide as an alternative to the commercially available gonadal shield in different concentrations.
Methods: A Geiger Muller Counter was used to record the values per exposure, which were used to compute the Half Value Layer, and were subjected to statistical analysis.
Results: The means of the HVL values from the three concentrations are 9.38±3.92, 7.84±2.53, and 8.62±1.77 for the HDPE and 125% of ZnO, HDPE and 100% of ZnO, and HDPE and 75% of ZnO, respectively. The mean radiation attenuation among the three concentrations is 0.21±0.03 for HDPE and 75% ZnO, 0.19±0.06 for HDPE and 100% ZnO, and 0.27±0.07 for HDPE and 125% ZnO. After the One-Way Repeated-Measures ANOVA, it was found that there was no significant difference between the means of the radiation attenuation of the HDPE doped with ZnO radiation shields and the lead shield: F (3,12) = 2.158, p = 0.146. In addition, a supplemental survey revealed that the shields were generally well-received in terms of their comfortability and wearability.
Conclusion: Overall, the HDPE doped with ZnO radiation shields could attenuate a significant amount of radiation, suggesting its potential to be an alternative to a lead radiation shield.
References
Ahmed, E. K., Mahran, H. M., Alrashdi, M. F., & Elsafi, M. (2024). Studying the shielding ability of different cement mortars against gamma ray sources using waste iron and BaO microparticles. Nexus of Future Materials, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.70128/583327
Alsayed, Z., Badawi, M., Awad, R., Thabet, A., & El-Khatib, A. (2019). Study of some γ-ray attenuation parameters for new shielding materials composed of nano ZnO blended with high density polyethylene. Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, 34(4), 342–352. https://doi.org/10.2298/ntrp190718033a
Alshareef, R., Marashdeh, M. W., Almurayshid, M., & Alsuhybani, M. (2023). Study of radiation attenuation properties of HDPE/ZnO at energies between 47.5 and 266 keV. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 165, 104909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.104909
Alshipli, M., Altaim, T. A., Aladailah, M. W., Oglat, A. A., Alsenany, S. A., Tashlykov, O. L., Mohammed, S., Marashdeh, M. W., Banat, R., Pyltsova, D. O., Kuvshinova, E. V., & Gaowgzeh, R. A. (2023). High-density polyethylene with ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticle filler: Computational and experimental studies of radiation-protective characteristics of polymers. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 16(4), 100720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2023.100720
Bushong, S. C. (2020). Radiologic science for technologist: Physics, biology, and protection (12th ed.). Elsevier Mosby.
Bushberg, J. T., Seibert, J. A., Leidholdt, E. M., & Boone, J. M. (2020). The essential physics of medical imaging. Wolters Kluwer.
Guidelines for ALARA – as low as reasonably achievable. (2024, February 26). Radiation and Your Health. https://www.cdc.gov/radiation-health/safety/alara.html
Kaçal, M. R., Polat, H., Oltulu, M., Akman, F., Agar, O., & Tekin, H. O. (2020). Gamma shielding and compressive strength analyses of polyester composites reinforced with zinc: an experiment, theoretical, and simulation based study. Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing, 126(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-3382-2
Olvido, M. M. (2020). Configuration of research culture: Investment, process, and norm. Recoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 8(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.32871/rmrj2008.02.01
Veloso, H. M. (2023). The shielding potential of barium sulfate, carbon fiber and zinc combination in general radiography. [Unpublished undergraduate Thesis]. Cebu Doctors’ University.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 University of San Jose-Recoletos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of the Journal belongs to the University of San Jose-Recoletos
