Nuclear Safety: Nuclear Shielding Options For Your Power Plant

Environmental Blog

You know that nuclear power is one of the best sources of power as well as one of the most eco-friendly options. But you also know that you must protect your employees from radiation. The following guide will help you understand the choices you have when it comes to nuclear shielding so that you and your radiation physics specialist can protect those working for you. 

Basic Protection Plan

Making sure your power plant is ready for nuclear power means that you should understand the standard protection guide, which includes the following:

  • The amount of time that your employees will be exposed to radiation
  • Just how far the radiation source is from your employees
  • The right nuclear shielding material to help keep your employees safe (which will be discussed below) 

You can talk to your radiation physics specialist about other things you can do to keep your employees safe.

Types Of Nuclear Shielding Materials

You can contain radiation buy using shielding materials, such as bricks; you can also block radiation with garments that your employees can wear, or use a combination of the choices. The following are some options for nuclear shielding that you should be aware of:

Traditional Shielding

This is the purest form of lead, which is one of most dense materials available that helps muffle gamma and X-ray radiation. Traditional shielding materials--be it garments or bricks--are the heavier options. But they do offer the kind of protection you need. A study, however, showed that traditional lead shielding options absorb slightly more radiation than lead composite shielding options, even though the protection was relatively equivalent.

You can talk to your radiation physics specialist about what grade would work best for your needs.

Lead Composite Shielding

The lead composite shielding option (mentioned above) offers lead materials that are mixed with other heavy metals, like tin, which still offers an equivalent amount of protection. The reason you might want to consider lead composite shielding is that the lead composite shielding materials are much lighter than traditional lead materials, should your employees need agility for the job. 

Non-Lead or Lead-Free Shielding

The third option you have is shielding materials that include metals like tin, tungsten, or other dense metals that will give you the same amount of protection as the previous options. The difference is that these materials can be easily and safely disposed of or recycled, unlike lead-based materials. 

Now you have a little more knowledge concerning nuclear shielding, which will help keep you and your employees safe and sound. For further assistance, contact local professionals, such as those from Nuclear Lead Co., Inc.

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16 November 2015

propane for off the grid heating

I have always dreamed of living off of the grid. I didn't want my house connected to any utilities and I didn't want it anywhere that could be seen from the road. When I found this little lot for sale way out in the middle of the woods, I knew that I had found my future home. The one thing that I had to consider was how I would heat my home without any utility connections. The only solution to this problem was to have a propane tank delivered and use propane to heat my house. Find out about using propane to stay off the grid here on my blog.