Evaluation of the performance of bentonite and serpentine mixture as a shield in radioactive waste landfills

The advantages of nuclear energy and the acceptance of this industry by different countries of the world have caused the use of radioactive materials in different centers. Therefore, this increase in the use of nuclear materials causes the production of radioactive waste and environmental pollution. Due to the high volume of low-level radioactive materials and the emission of hazardous radiation such as gamma rays, the safe storage of these materials is a global challenge. One of the safest solutions for low level radioactive waste is to bury it in the basement. The basic structure of landfills is the presence of a clay coating around them. To improve the radiation absorption by this coating, the clay is combined with serpentine and evaluated. According to the principle that as the density of the compound increases, the amount of radiation absorption increases, so serpentine has been selected as a clay additive. In this research, the amount of linear attenuation coefficient at three energy levels of ۶۶۲, ۱۱۷۳ and ۱۳۳۲ keV has been determined by Nal (Tl) detector. The samples made in this research are pure bentonite, bentonite with ۱۵% serpentine, bentonite with ۳۰% serpentine and bentonite with ۴۵% serpentine. In general, the results show that the BSS ۴۵ combination has the best linear attenuation coefficient.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nuclear industry ، radiation shielding ، Nuclear Waste Disposal Centers ، Low level waste