Ra 226 Shielding

[jmcgrath]

Dear All,

I am going to be working with some Ra 226 and I need to put some shielding in place. Does anyone have a figure for the thickness of 4140 steel needed to half the counts?

Thanks,

John

 

[jmcgrath]

Sorry folks,

I have just found out that we have changed the material that we are goingto use to 174 ph stainless steel.

Thanks,

John

 

[vpl]

jmcgrath

Don't have any particular information (because I'm too lazy to do any of the required calcs.) From what I remember, radium 226 is mostly an alpha emitter. Remember, radium watches? The big concern was with the wommen painting the dials getting mouth cancer because they stuck the brushes in their mouths to put a tip on them. Wearing the watches was not a big deal. So from that standpoint, unless you plan to eat the radium, a sheet of ordinary paper will do the trick.

Patricia Lougheed

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