The efficacy of various thicknesses of float glasses for protection of gamma-radiation

Recognizing the availability and low cost of marketable glasses, this study evaluates the radiation protection efficacy of various thicknesses of float glasses used in Bangladeshi dwellings. Numerous float glasses differing in widths (2.5 mm, 3.2 mm, 5.0 mm, 5.9 mm, 7.9 mm, and 10 mm) and produced by the Nasir glass industry in Bangladesh are studied herein. In this regard, at energies 59 keV, 661 keV, 1173 keV, and 1332 keV, the major radiation protection attributes such as effective atomic number, narrow-beam absorption coefficients, mass absorption coefficients, half-value layer, and radiation protection efficiency have been evaluated. The incident and transmitted photon intensity have been measured via a well-shielded HPGe gamma-ray detector accompanied by obligatory electronics. The values of narrow-beam absorption coefficients of the studied glass specimens show a decreasing trend of SNG-1 > SNG-2 > SNG-3 > SNG-4 > SNG-5 > SNG-6. It has been perceived that the effective atomic number of the glass specimen is 13.6, which shows good aspirants of TLD-200 (Z(eff) = 16.3) as well as bone tissue equivalence. Based on the half-value layer (HVL) study, the lowest and highest thickness glass specimens SNG-1 (2.5 mm) and SNG-6 (10 mm) have lessened the incident radiation by 7% and 20%, respectively. On the other hand, the specimen SNG-6 has offered almost 2.5 times higher radiation protection efficacy than the specimen SNG-1 studied herein.