Lead-free mixture as a radiation protection additive

Abstract

The present invention provides a mixture containing a) at least 26 wt. % of gadolinium and b) one or more elements, alloys and / or compounds from the group consisting of barium, indium, tin, lanthanum, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, zirconium and tungsten, a process for the preparation of this mixture, use of the mixture as radiation protection, use of the mixture to prepare polymeric radiation protection substances, a process for preparing radiation screening rubbers, thermoplastic materials and polyurethanes, a process for preparing products from the polymeric radiation protection substances and products made from these polymeric radiation protection substances.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention provides a mixture containing a) at least 26 wt. % of gadolinium and b) one or more elements, alloys and / or compounds of the group consisting of barium, indium, tin, lanthanum, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, zirconium, tungsten or mixture thereof, a process for the preparation of this mixture, use of the mixture as radiation protection, use of the mixture to prepare polymeric radiation protection substances, a process for preparing radiation-shielding rubbers, thermoplastic materials and polyurethanes, a process for preparing products from the polymeric radiation protection substances and products made from these polymeric radiation protection substances.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Humans are increasingly subjected to ionizing radiation from a number of sources. The radiation occurs in the form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, such as X-ray or gamma-radiation. It cannot be detected directly by humans. Depending on the t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is about a mixture that contains at least 26% of gadolinium and / or gadolinium compounds and / or gadolinium alloys, and at least 10% of one or more elements and / or alloys and / or compounds of these elements chosen from the group consisting of barium, indium, tin, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, zirconium, and tungsten. The concentration of tungsten in the mixture is at least 10% if tungsten is present.

Problems solved by technology

Depending on the type and duration of exposure to radiation, however, one's health can be damaged.

When operating X-ray devices or other radiation emitting instruments, the unintended effects of radiation on the operator or third parties may occur.

In many cases it is then not possible to operate the devices mentioned above, or only when third parties are not present.

In many cases also, complete separation of the operating staff from the source of radiation is not possible, and also not practicable, because the operator can only operate the equipment in the immediate vicinity of the equipment and the source of radiation.

The disadvantage of lead is that, due to the photoelectric effect, the degree of attenuation of lead is relatively small at low energies of the ionizing radiation.

Also, lead has questionable toxicological properties.

On top of that, there is the great weight of lead-containing protective equipment.

The disadvantage of this composition is the high proportion of antimony oxide which is classified as a carcinogenic compound.

Thus, in all the known processes, either lead or antimony or their compounds in high concentration, or ecologically unacceptable substances such as mercury, polonium or uranium and / or substance mixtures with high basic proportions of metal such as e.g. antimony, are used.

Often, the radiation protection substances used in the known processes do not adequately screen against high-energy X-radiation in the region of 90 to 150 kV accelerating potential.